


The Dreams We Wish Take Time

by SomedayonBroadway



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Cinderella AU, F/M, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2020-05-13 16:49:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19255225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomedayonBroadway/pseuds/SomedayonBroadway
Summary: "Even miracles take a little time..." Sometimes that time is when that clock stikes midnight and a shoe is left behind for someone to find. And sometimes... it's all a little more than that.





	1. Chapter 1

"C'mon ya stupid stove. Work faster!" Jack muttered to himself as he stood, slaving over a breakfast he so desperately wished he could devour. But it wasn't for him. Of course it wasn't. It never was. Why he was doing this, he had to remind himself everyday. But he would do it. Till the day he died if he had to.

"What the hell is taking so long?" The boy cringed at the voice. He felt a chill go through him at the roughness and demand of the question. But he shook his head and hid all signs of nerve or fear when he was able to look up and glance around the room. He wasn't the only one in there. And to show weakness now would only cause a panic he wouldn't be able to handle. So he just shook his head and called back into the other room.

"Just another minute!"

Jack Kelly was a rare one, indeed. The politeness and carefulness he could hold for the three people just beyond that door to the kitchen was thought to be impossible. But he did it. After all, they were his family.

Well... _step_ family, that is.

The boy rolled his eyes at the thought.

"Boys, no runnin' in the house! Ya know what the masters'll do if they find ya in here lookin' like that!" Jack didn't have to turn around when he heard a group of footsteps running towards him and a woman's voice warning them against it. He knew who was there and his heart hurt to think of the things the woman had just spoke of, but he just put on a smile and turned to them, ready for anything at that point.

"Oh let 'em be, Kaitlyn. They ain't got the smarts ta come back here. I's pretty sure none of 'em 'ave seen a kitchen in their life." Jack waved off one of the three women in the room. The young master of the house's smile became real and genuine when he saw three kids running to him, dressed in rags and worn shoes. They were covered in dirt and grass and their pants were dripping with murky water, letting Jack know where they'd just come from. But even with the worry filling up in him, he couldn't help but chuckle a little at their appearances. "What's the word today, fellas?"

There was one that stood in front of the group. He was short, with soft blond hair that looked to be a mess atop his head. His green eyes had a certain sparkle in them that Jack prayed would never be lost to him. And under his right arm stood a proud, old, wooden crutch.

"They's all doin' okay, Jack..." The kid's voice was so innocent. He couldn't be a day over fourteen. And Jack, being at least three years older than him, couldn't help but want to just protect him from the world, along with the other boys around him. "Got in a little wata' fight this mornin'," Jack laughed at that, relieved at the words. But the kid wasn't done yet. It could never just end there. "But..." The boy hesitated, "somethin' happened last night n' they won't say what."

That was what Jack had been waiting for. The news that made his stomach roll in anger. Anger he couldn't show. So he sighed instead and nodded. "Alright," he turned back to the cooking meal, quickly trying to plate it and balance three glass plate's in his two arms. He was no stranger to the routine. "Get a few chores done, yeah? I'll meet ya ova' there in a few minutes." And he turned to leave as the maids began to clean up the mess he'd left for them. "JoJo, why don't ya help these lovely ladies? They's been havin' a long mornin'." It was all worth the extra minutes of fear growing in him to see the maids blush and smile at him. The boy with the brown hair and energetic aura around him sweetly walked up to the women and began to wash some dishes. "Finch, no bird shootin', got it?" the boy asked, addressing the other boy with a slingshot stuck in the waist of his old, rag like pants. "I need ya ta do the feedin'."

And just as Jack was about to push the door open, he gave one last look at the people in the room. The maids with their hair tied back in messy ponytails and buns, dresses old and dirty, wiping the sweat from their foreheads. The boys who were already rushing off to do work first thing in the morning, having had no sort of meal beforehand. And his eyes landed on the boy with the crutch. "Go back to them and make sure they's okay. Take some a' the rolls from dinner last night and make sure they all eat. Don't let none of 'em fight with ya, ya hear?"

The crippled kid winked and a grin spread across his face. "They's won't fight with me, Jackie. They's love me too much," he replied with complete and total confidence. And no one could argue. After all, that innocent smile could suade anyone. Well... _almost_ anyone. Jack was sure he knew three very specific people that were completely blind to any good in the world.

Finch chuckled on his way out the door. "Whateva' ya say, Crutchie," he agreed, ruffling the blond boy's hair. But as he opened the door, he stopped with a smile on his face as he turned back to the kid. "Hey, what's the leg say?" he asked, shivering a bit as a cold wind flew past him. "Gonna rain?" The sky was full of clouds. Though they were little boys who would've loved a time outside getting wet and playing in puddles, they knew rain would only get them working outside in the harsh conditions, or beaten for hesitation to do so.

Crutchie made a face, like he was thinking real hard. "Eh... no rain. Partly cloudy, clear by evenin'," he answered with a smile.

Jack snorted. He couldn't help himself. He quickly set down the plates and wrapped his arm around the boy, ruffling his hair and smiling as he did so. Then he pressed a quick kiss to the kid's temple in a brotherly fashion before he was running back to the meals on the counter. "I'll be right behind ya!" His last shout was a bit muffled as he was rushing out of the room and the boys' smiles fell as they watched him go.

"God bless that boy," one of the maids sighed as they held the door to the farm open for the boys. "If it was my job ta serve the masters breakfast everyday, I'm afraid I'd not be able ta hold my tongue." Then she smiled at the young boy hard at work by the sink, happily cleaning up some dishes in his soaked rags, dirt smeared across his innocent face. "Joseph, why don't you go get us some fresh rags to dry, hm?"

JoJo smiled. "Anythin' fer you m'lady."

The woman nodded. "Takin' lessons from Mr. Kelly, I see," she laughed. "And then maybe some from little Romeo?"

The boy began running out of the room, opposite of the way Jack had gone, in his pursue of the towels he'd been requested to grab and he smiled at them, sheepishly. "Well maybe I's just know when ta compliment such amazing women, such as yourselves." And he winked before he was off, a certain bounce in his step.

Crutchie rolled his eyes as he stopped at the door. "He sure is takin' lessons from one of 'em," he chuckled at the teen who must've been about the same age as him.

A rare moment of peace passed before a bang was heard from the other room. All four occupants of the kitchen jumped in surprise. But none of them were as wide-eyed and afraid as the small boy with the crutch under his arm. And one of the women sighed. "I thinks the masters need ta go inside the church, 'stead a' refusin' ta give 'em a few free pieces a' fruit for the poor."

At this, Crutchie laughed quietly, shaking himself from his state of shock and fear as the adrenaline rush he'd been experiencing only a moment ago began to fade. "Oh Meredith... that'll be the day."

The women nodded and shooed the boy out. "Go take care of those boys. Be sure ta bring 'em back here if they need help!" And the boys nodded, hurrying off into the fields.

"Beth, make sure you have some fresh rags ready," Meredith ordered to the maid that was by the stove. "Last night I was hearin' some screamin'." She carefully closed the doors and moved back over to the other maids. "Pleasure I get sleepin' next ta that blasted window. I'm sure it was that Italian boy," she sighed with remorse. "He's been gettin' it the worst lately."

"Well, with that mouth a' his, and little Romeo what did ya expect?" Beth replied. They all began washing the dishes they'd used to make the breakfast. "Albert and Specs can only keep him quiet for so long."

"They shouldn't have ta be keepin' him quiet." Kaitlyn shook her head as she grabbed the driest rag she could find and began to wipe away the water off of the dishes. "None of those boys should be in this mess. Bein' sold off as slaves is every child's worst nightmare. I can't believe their parents did that ta them."

"It ain't always a choice, Kaitlyn," one of the others quickly corrected.

Kaitlyn sighed and nodded. "I know..." she agreed. "The poor things... Either way, they're lucky ta have the young master to be lookin' out for them like he does. Otherwise I'm 'fraid they'd a' been sold and dead years ago."

The room became quiet at that. The boys would be gone. Their boys. "Like ya said," Meredith sighed, "God bless that boy."

"Well what on earth was taking so long?" The man that sat at the head of the table was as cruel as they come. It didn't take much to see it. Upon entering the same room as him, the temperature seemed to drop and a cold chill filled in the large space. He had such dark eyes. They matched the color of his heart that had hardened over time. His lips were hidden by a mustache, however, they did not hide his scowl as he looked to his stepson. "You look exhausted, Jack," he commented, not with concern. More with irritation.

"Out with the rats again, Jackie?" Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He may have been raised to be kind and to protect but he wasn't inhuman. He had feelings. And he had instincts that he had to constantly ignore. He, instead, looked up at the boy who sat to the man's right. He had thick, dark brown hair. His eyes almost matched the cruel ones of his father. They were only a bit lighter.

Jack only sighed as he continued preparing their meals for them. "I'm sorry, Mr. Snyder." The way he addressed his stepfather was so formal. The man never allowed anything else other than sir. And Jack hated it. But there was nothing he could do about it. This man practically owned him. He was barely above the status of a servant in the house that was once his.

"Tell us where you were, Kelly," the other boy demanded with a smirk. He looked just like his brother, only older and taller. But when Jack didn't answer, he got impatient. "Now."

Jack ground his teeth together for a moment as he finished setting the table. He was so ready to bolt from the room, leaving their majesties with their food that they might as well be taking out of the mouths of the starved.

"Well, Jack?" his stepfather urged. "Out with it."

Jack swallowed his initial, unfiltered, respond. He grabbed the tray and started over to the door. "I was with my friends, sir," he finally answered, facing the door, afraid to look back at the man when he heard an annoyed sigh.

Jack felt a pang of fear rush through him when a fist came down on the table. "What have I told you, boy?" Jack could hear his stepbrothers snickering behind his back. He didn't move as the man continued. "Slaves are not friends. They are property. And they are not yours." The words made Jack sick.

"They won't be around forever, Jackie-boy. What are you gonna do when they're all gone?" one of his stepbrothers smirked. But the boy of the house was too busy to figure out which one.

Jack couldn't barely keep up right. The words hit him hard, for the boys he held so dearly were being treated as objects and not as they were. They were Jack's brothers. Nothing less. "Ah yes... or have you forgotten that that stupid cripple is absolutely worthless? We could sell him right now if we wanted to." The boy grabbed the doorframe at his stepfather's words. They fished for panic that was now swirling around in Jack's head.

"Please don't, sir. Please... he does his work and he's a good kid..." Jack could barely whisper it out. The very thought of that innocent little boy being taken from him made him feel lost and alone. "Let them stay... they're good kids..."

The man only scoffed and suddenly Jack wanted nothing more than to strangle him. Anger rolled in him, adding to the collection Jack had been locking away for years. But he soon found that it would get him no where. Only with lashes on his back and a little boy slaving over him while trying to clean them out. Or worse. Without the people he'd come to love so dearly. "Get to work, Kelly. Maybe the gimp can stay another day."

Jack was out of the room faster than he could comprehend. And his stepbrothers laughed at him.

"That boy needs to learn his place," concluded the cruel man of the house. "He's lucky we didn't throw him out on the streets the the minute I lost his mother. Now he makes us the laughing stock of the kingdom. Some _boy_." His two sons chuckled in agreement. As Snyder continued with his meal, he gave the two boys a glance. "Oscar, Morris, what are you two doing today?"

Oscar, the younger of the two, gave his brother a look of mischief. Morris only smirked. "Oh, we'll just be taking care of some... _vermin_ , today."

Jack ran. He ran through the fields of the farm that held so many precious memories of a life he sometimes wished he could forget. A life when everything was so perfect it hurt to think it was gone. He pushed every feeling he had as far away from him as he possibly could. He blinked away the tears in his eyes as he passed by animals and crops growing. The finest crops in the entire kingdom.

That alone made Jack even more frustrated with more memories he couldn't forget. A lost friend, a lost childhood, a lost life. He was a slave now. Or as close as they could make him to one.

But none of it mattered when he reached the trees growing above the fields. None of it mattered when he entered the forest and found the creek. None of it mattered when he followed the little stream of water and saw them. A whole bunch of boys. Boys playing in the water, looking to the naked eye like they hadn't a care in the world. But Jack knew them. And they had the weight of the world riding in their shoulders. It wasn't fair.

There were at least ten of them there. Finch and JoJo were still out doing chores. Jack hated to keep them from coming here, but he was just trying to do right by all of them. Keep them all safe. He did make a mental note to make sure they ate something later. And then he put on a small smile as tired eyes found him and almost everyone greeted him with a grin.

"Hiya, fellas." He watched so many of them smile and wave at him before they continued to play in the water and tease each other and laugh with each other and just be little boys.

"They's all ate," Jack turned his head to see Crutchie limping up to him, away from a boy with the specs and another with fiery red hair. The kid looked like he'd just gotten over some stress and frustration. "Some was harder than others." The kid sighed. And he stood by his friend as they watched the boys. _Their_ boys.

Jack knew what Crutchie was talking about. It was a never ending battle. One that Jack had tried to put a stop to for years. But his eyes zeroed in on two kids. One looked to be only a year or two younger than Jack. Older than Crutchie. His curly blond hair sprouted off of his head and looked to be filled with dirt and soot. His blue eyes were tired. Far too tired, Jack reasoned. Rimmed with red and standing above dark circles. They were carefully guarded. The older boy knew why, but the boyish charm they held was ever present in them.

The other kid was very small. Possibly around nine or ten years old. Though, he could pull six or seven if people didn't know him. His dark brown hair was growing a bit long on his head and the locks were draped over his equally brown eyes, filled with so much curiosity and wonder for the world.

It was dangerous. Jack knew that much. The world was dangerous. But maybe it was worth a shot after this hell.

The boy with the blue eyes stood near the creek, carefully scooping the younger boy up and bringing him into his arms like a toddler, letting the kid wrap arms around his neck and legs around his waist as they smiled and laughed with each other in the fresh morning air. But right when the kid looked back down at the water, the blond boy winced.

They were brothers. By blood. Sold to pay a debt two parents could not pay. Their oldest had been ten, leaving their youngest a mere four years old. The parents chose to sell them over the land they had worked so hard for. They'd left two children to fend for themselves in a cruel world where they would become slaves and at the mercy of their masters who did not see them as such. They were property. To all but one Jack Kelly.

Jack walked up to the pair, Crutchie walking back to some of the other boys and striking up a light conversation. It was what the kid did best. Optimism. Something not many of them still had.

"Racer... you okay?" Jack asked the question very quietly, trying not to grab the attention of everyone there. But, for a split second, Race looked like he'd just been caught red handed in the middle of a full fledged lie, before he quickly scoffed and held his brother close to him.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about, Jackie?" Race shook his head, confused. Or, at least pretending to be confused. Jack shook his head too. His boys should know well enough that he could read them all like a book.

The brunette held out his arms. "Come here, Romeo." The little kid, youngest of anyone there, climbed off of Race and onto Jack instead, causing Race to wish he could just run away for a moment. But he couldn't. And before he could stop it, Jack lightly hit him in the chest, causing him to flinch and groan in pain.

"Dannazione..." The boy cursed in his native tongue. One that he grew up speaking. One that he had to partially abandon to speak English when he'd been beaten for not understanding. But he still spoke it enough. After Romeo woke up after a nightmare, or had been given a strike for doing something wrong. Or when he needed to scream something that no one could understand. Or when he cried to Jack that he wasn't good enough or that he just wanted Romeo to have it better. But Jack always hoped to hear it when the boy was happy. _Excited._

Jack held Romeo closer when Race stood there in pain. The little boy gasped at the sight of his big brother like that. "Race? Did he hurt ya 'gain, last night?" Jack's eyes widened.

" _Again?_ "

Race's eyes shot up to Jack. "It ain't nothin'!" he insisted, giving his kid brother a look. A look that said to shut up.

"No, no, no," Jack put one hand out to Race, telling him to hush before he turned to the boy held up in his other arm. "What happened, Rome?"

The small boy was held to Jack's side. He opened his mouth but he was stuck, looking back and forth between the two boys he looked up to more than anything. But overall, he had to do what was best for his big brother. "Masta' yelled at Race the otha' day fer fallin' down... and then..."

Race shook his head but Jack nodded, wrapping his other arm around the boy and bouncing him up on his hip a little bit. "It's okay, kid. Race don't know what's good fer him." He ignored the glare and the arm cross when Romeo started speaking again.

"He hit Race in the chest with somethin'... an'..." The little boy looked over to his brother who was looking at the ground in shame. "You was so tired yesterday, Race! Esausto! I knows he hit ya ancora!"

By now, they'd gotten the attention of every boy there. The boy with the glasses and the kid with the red hair were staring with their eyes wide. Specs and Albert. Jack looked over to them and Specs ran over.

"What happened?" Jack asked, immediately.

Specs wasted no time carefully wrapping an arm around Race's shoulder. "He passed out. Romeo was sleepin'."

Jack sighed. Race was still looking down at the ground. "Lemme see, kid," he demanded. And when the boy didn't move Jack gently set the little boy on the ground. Romeo ran to his brother and hugged him around his leg. Immediately, Race's arms were loose and his hand was in the boy's hair. And Jack walked up to him and grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

"Hey!" Race tried to back away but Specs and Romeo held him still. And his eyes were wide when Jack gasped at his now exposed chest.

"Jesus Racer, what the hell happened?" There were three marks on the boy's chest. Almost black. Burns. Long and big.

Race shoved Jack's hands away. He defiantly pulled his shirt down and Jack knew why. It was because he couldn't be defiant anywhere else. With anyone but the people he was with. So Jack didn't fight with him. But he gave him a hard glare. "He used an iron. A hot one."

"Does it hurt?" Race glanced over to Crutchie who had walked up to them. The crippled boy placed a hand on Romeo's back as Race bit his cheek. He looked around at all the boys who could pick out his lies anywhere. So he sighed.

"Like hell..." he finally muttered out.

Jack saw Romeo clutch onto his brother tighter. "It's okay, fratellino..."

"But ya ain't okay, Gara... you's hurt!" Romeo cried and Race couldn't help but bend back down and pick him back up, despite the pain it brought him. And he smiled through the burning of his chest, ignoring Jack's silent pleas for him not to hurt himself any further. A gesture seen by his hands reaching out to take Romeo back.

"Rome, I am okay. I'll be okay. Everything is gonna be fine. Perché siamo insieme e lo saremo sempre." This was a sentence said many times by Race. Jack still didn't know what it meant, only that Romeo would place a hand over his big brother's heart while Race did the same to his and then Race would press a kiss to Romeo's hairline.

Jack shook his head. He wanted to tell Race to take more care of himself. He wanted to tell Race how it wasn't only affecting him. He wanted to tell Race how many nights Crutchie would sit awake at night, asking Jack if he thought Race would be at the creek the next morning. Or how many nightmares he woken up from where Romeo came running to him sobbing, Albert and Specs lagging behind, carrying a body of a boy once filled with life and witty comebacks.

But he couldn't do that. Not when Race smiled like that. Not when he was content to hold his baby brother like that and so happy to be there with all of the boys from the house next door. The one that Jack could practically see a dark, ominous cloud looming around. So he didn't say anything else. Only gave Race a stern look when their eyes locked. It was a look that conveyed an entire conversation in a single second. A conversation that ended with _"Stop hiding things from me because I care about you..."_

Race broke eye contact with the boy who had been nothing short of a big brother to him from the day he'd found them. Since the day that they'd been hiding from their master after he'd threatened to whip the youngest of them. Since he'd threatened to hurt _Romeo_.

Race remembered that day so vividly. He remembered screaming out in his native tongue when a strange boy he'd never met before had gathered up his baby brother in his arms and began to walk away with him. He remembered Albert's arms encircling him when he tried to run after them as Specs quietly whispered to him that there was nothing he could do. And then that boy had turned back with wide eyes. Eyes that said he was only trying to help. That was the very first time Race had met the boy next door. The one and only Jack Kelly.

Jack walked closer to his boys. The ones who were more his brothers than the ones that took over his own home. The ones he wished he could get out of this damn place. He ruffled Romeo's hair as Race set him back down. He watched Albert wrap an arm around Race's shoulders. And Specs and Crutchie started to joke around with him, making him smirk as a natural cockiness seemed to fall into place.

Jack wrapped an arm around Romeo. The little boy was a so full of joy. The oldest of them still found it a mystery how. After all, the master next door was known as a devil. Equally or even more cruel than his own stepfather. But he kept them together. He kept Jack's boys, his _brothers_ together. And that was okay for now.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here...?"

Jack bit back a groan at the voice that he'd so intently come to hate. The friendliness and happiness and peace from a moment ago was gone in a split second, only to be replaced with a tense, dark panic that Jack could feel around him. He saw Race out of the corner of his eye grab Romeo who had been at Jack's side, and he pulled him behind him. The little boy then stood, peaking out from behind his brother as the Delanceys stood tall, stupid smirks on their faces when the boys cautiously moved away and fell into a terrified silence.

Crutchie was careful not to make too much noise. He limped closer to the boys, letting the redheaded kid that was closest to him wrap an arm around his shoulders when they saw the two kids who had done nothing but torture them from the day they'd followed Jack to their little hideout. Even before that, Crutchie, JoJo and Finch never had it easy with them. So the boys stood close, trying their best to protect each other without getting themselves hung.

Jack stepped in front of them all, a barrier between his brothers and his... _step_ brothers. "What the hell are you doin' here?" The boy of the house tried his best to keep his voice from becoming annoyed and bitter. But that was hard when he was talking to two of the people on the planet that made his skin crawl.

Morris took a step closer to him, his chest puffed out and his chin held high in a sign of important. In a way of telling Jack that he was above him. But Jack didn't mind. Only stood tall in front of the boys they all called slaves. In front of the boys who deserved so much more. "I think the better question is, what are you doin' here, Jackie-boy? Last I checked, you wasn't a piece a' property. This ain't your place."

Jack rolled his eyes. _This wasn't his place_. He'd heard it before. His place seemed to be no where. Not at the table that he grew up sitting and laughing at. Not playing around and having fun during the day, without a care in the world. Not alone in his room. Not with the people he loved. Sometimes, Jack really did wonder where his place was. He wished he could see it. He wished he could live it. But he couldn't. Instead, he did the best he could to keep the people he loved from being harmed and he stood with them, stubborn and ready to put up a fight.

"Leave 'em alone. Go back ta the house. This ain't none of you's business." He was about to turn back to the boys when he heard a cocky laugh that came out as a loud huff. And he turned back to the two boys, his hands over his chest and his jaw clenched.

Oscar stepped up, level to his brother and he glared at every boy standing there. Then his cold eyes landed on the smallest kid, a hand in his dark brown hair as he stood - terrified - behind his big brother, grasping onto the older boy's shirt so tightly his tiny knuckles were turning white. "It is our business when you're makin' us the laughin' stock a' the whole kingdom."

Jack scoffed. "I'd rather be a laughin' stock than hurt my boys. Leave 'em alone, Oscar."

Morris shoved Jack in the shoulders. The boy stumbled a bit but made no move to shove back, only put a hand up in front of the blond boy to his right when he clenched up the fist that wasn't resting in his little brother's hair. Race gave a him a glance before he seemed to relax a little bit. But not enough in Jack's opinion.

"We could have 'em all hung fer bein' on our land." Jack still wasn't intimidated. After all, it was _his_ land. Not theirs. "And fatha' would give you a good whippin' if he caught ya out here givin' the slaves our food!" Morris smirked at Jack when he winced at the thought.

"This is his land." Everything froze at the voice. Jack always tried his hardest to keep the loudmouth Italian from putting in his two sense. It never ended well. But Race didn't care. In his mind, he had the right to speak. He wouldn't when Jack wasn't around, but when the boy who willingly let them call him a big brother was there, Race knew he wouldn't let the worst happen. And that was all that mattered to him. But to Jack, hearing any of the boys screaming out in pain made him go crazy.

Oscar and Morris glared. It was clear they expected him to speak. And Jack felt the rage begin to build up inside of him. "Race..." Crutchie had tried to pull him back, but Race shook him off. He carefully loosened the tight grip that had been around him and pushed his brother into Specs. He knew what might happen. And he wasn't gonna let someone else get in the way.

Oscar scoffed and took a step closer to the slave boy in front of him, only a few inches behind Jack. "Learn you place, _slave_ ," the boy hissed. "Last time I checked, I don't have ta be your owner ta punish ya fer speakin' outta turn."

Jack put an arm out to shove Race behind him as best he could. Then he was practically nose to nose with Oscar. "He didn't say nothin' that wasn't true."

The younger boy rolled his eyes. "He has no right ta say it."

"He has my permission, _Delancey_ ," Jack stressed, using the name as a way to try and distract them from the boy they loved to tease, torment and hurt. He was their easiest target. Him and Crutchie, Jack discovered. A boy that always gave them means to do awful things and another that couldn't use both of his legs to get away.

The name definitely got their attention for a moment. They claimed their name was Snyder. Just like their father. It was a lie. Delancey was their mother's name. They'd been found as children, their mother dead. She'd written a note. A note that confessed their father was Snyder. She'd been a disgrace. She was poor. Disowned. And Snyder had left his kids with her until she died, and he was forced to take them back and make them into mini versions of him. When the name was spoken, they were reminded that their father wouldn't even care about them at all, had their mother not killed herself and forced them upon him. Snyder only cared about forcing his views and opinions and ways upon his own offspring. That's what they were. His legacy. One Jack wished he could stop.

"Careful, Kelly!" The boy glared at Morris.

"Guardalo, _Delancey_ ," Race spoke in a mocking tone. And suddenly, all hell broke loose.

Morris grabbed Jack and held his arms behind his back for just long enough to let his little brother firmly strike Race across the cheek before shoving him to the ground. A swift kick to the stomach made sure to knock all the air out of the kid.

"Hey!" Crutchie cried out, dropping beside his friend, letting his crutch fall to the ground beside him. A small gasp was heard as a little boy stood from behind Specs, watching his brother be beaten right in front of him.

"My God, boy..." Oscar shook his head as Jack struggled in the Delancey's hold. "If you was my property, you'd be dead where ya stand."

Race clutched into his sides as he tried to get all the oxygen back into his lungs. "Then its a damn good thing I ain't your property, ain't it?" the boy rasped.

Crutchie glared up at the boys, just in time for Jack to break free and for Morris to grab onto his own crutch and raise it above his head. "Ya want some a' this too, ya lousy crip?!" Jack caught the thing just before it could break into his soft skull.

"That ain't nice, Morris!" Jack shoved him backwards and raised the wooden crutch in his hands as Oscar tried to step to him again. "Beat it!"

Race breathed heavily as he watched the scene. Oscar smirked and Morris scowled. The older of the two had to take the other by the arm and begin to drag him away. "This ain't ova', slave!" Race knew the boy was addressing him. He'd always been his least favorite. Everyone knew it. "Ya can't keep 'em all togetha' fer long, Jackie-boy! Someday they'll all be gone and you'll all know what it's really like ta be what you are!"

The silence that passed while they watched the two hated brothers leave was heavy. All that was heard was a few groans from a doubly hurt Racetrack and a few quiet whispers of encouragement from Crutchie. Other than that, Romeo just stared at his brother with wide eyes at what he'd just heard. What he'd just watched. And Specs held onto him tightly, keeping him from Race, trying to let him recover before the smaller boy was weeping onto his chest.

Jack sighed and gently set his friend's crutch on the ground once again, kneeling next to the two boys on the ground. Race was curled into Crutchie, slightly. The younger helped him somewhat sit up as he coughed and refused to meet Jack's eyes. He could feel the look of disapproval looming over him. His lips wanted to form a sentence. It was more a reflex than anything else, but when he could see Jack step right in front of him he opted against it. He simply let himself breathe as he tried to comprehend why his mouth always moved without his own consent. He tried to understand why he couldn't stop it. But then he remembered.

"They's can't just talk ta ya like that, Jack," he muttered finally, still unable to move his gaze from the ground. Then he felt something that had happened a million times. Something he would never be used to. A finger that clipped his chin and forced him to look up. The look he'd expected was there. Disapproval. But there was more to it than that. There was concern and sorrow. Sorrow for not being able to stop it. Sorrow from not being able to get them out of here to begin with. And Race blinked back his tears as he gently shied away from the touch of his friend, letting his chin fall from the hand and back down to his chest.

"Are you okay, Race?" Jack ran a hand through the blond curls and then quickly gave Crutchie a kiss on the head after he asked that question. Nothing else mattered. They just had to be okay. And when Race gave a soft nod, he sighed in relief and lifted his hand, gesturing for a teary eyes Romeo to come over. The boy did, with no kind of hesitation.

Race didn't look up until a bundle of his baby brother was in his arms. And then he was glancing up at Jack who gave him a small, sad smile. But Race couldn't find it in him to smile back. And Jack understood that. He just held Crutchie close and then enveloped the other two boys in a tight hug.

"Did he mean that, Gara?" Romeo's question was so quiet as all the other boys began to close in on them too, all holding onto each other for dear life. Holding onto their _family_ like a lifeline. "Are we gonna get separated?"

Race looked up at Jack with pleading eyes. They'd all known the likelihood of the two blood brothers being together their whole lives was not high. They _knew_ that. Admitting it and talking about it was a different story. As much as all these boys loved each other, they couldn't always be together. They were slaves. _Property_. A means of trade and work. And Race began to tear up as both Jack and Crutchie looked down at the boy, wide eyed, not knowing what to say. So all he could do was press his lips to the boy's forehead, leaving a lingering kiss on the dirty skin of the boy he would do anything for. "Ti voglio bene, fratellino..."

Jack heart broke at the tiny whisper. He felt Crutchie's arms wrapping around his waist to hold onto him tighter. Suddenly he felt so useless. These boys from the master next door needed to be set free. The slaves from his own home needed to be set free. No one deserved this. Especially not these boys. Not these _children_. But for now, holding onto them was all he could do. It was the only thing that kept them close and safe and secure and _together_.

But one day, he'd get them away. Somehow, he would set his brothers free. Little did he know exactly how soon his life would begin to change. Little did he know that somewhere far away, there was a girl who also had a passion brewing inside her. A girl who lived in a beautiful palace with anything and everything anyone could want. At least... that's what everyone thought. A girl they called The Princess.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... it’s been a while...

Everything was peaceful. The forest was so green it was almost blinding. The sun hit it in all the right spots. Everything was perfect. The wind rustled the world ever so slightly, ringing out music from the leaves that danced on the trees. The air was fresh and welcoming and she dashed through it without a care in the world. Everything was alright. She was _free_...

It was all she'd ever dreamed of. Peace. The world seemed happy from out there. Nothing was in a hurry. Nothing felt forced. Nobody was trapped and everything was wonderful. It was all natural. All beautiful. And she relished in every second of it as she bounced up and down on her beautiful white stallion.

She was happy.

That was, until she heard a sort of muffled voice come down from above her. That was when things started shifting. The world she loved began to fade as the leaves turned brown and the grass dried up.

_"Katherine."_

Her head wildly darted around, trying to think of anyway to make it stop. It wasn't working. As she suddenly became more aware, things were slipping right through her fingers as she grasped for them, wishing to stay there in that place, rather than be trapped under the eyes that met her instead.

"Katherine!"

Slowly awakening from her daydream, her eyes moved up from her untouched plate of food onto the man sitting across the table from her. The glass table. The one made up with golden outlines and the most pristine roses and orchids. Birds chirped around her from various cages and they sat under a large shield from the sun. It was beautifully made of stone and surrounded by an even more beautiful garden. Everything looked so bright and colorful. But Katherine didn't want to look around.

If she looked around, she'd see the enslaved people that were rushing around in the early hours of the morning, scrambling like madmen to get their work finished. Most hadn't had a meal since the day prior and were working on empty stomachs. She _knew_ that, even if the man in front of her tried to convince her otherwise.

Everything looked so perfect.

"I'm sorry, Father... I guess I just didn't sleep well last night..." It wasn't a complete lie. But Katherine would never admit to the man that she was in a world of her own, being content to be anywhere but where she was, even if that place was simply a creation of her own mind. "What were you saying?"

King Pulitzer sighed as he leaned back in his extravagant chair. Even for an outside dinning throne, it was beautiful. He surveyed his princess. She was slouched in her chair. Not much, but just enough to look improper. He held his chin high, as he did always. He did not like when his daughter acted like this. Like a commoner. Daydreaming, staring off into the distance, wondering what it would be like if things were different. Things were the same as they had been forever. And as far as the king was concerned, that was just the way it should be. "Please have some respect for our image, dear. Do you expect our people to respect you as a leader if you sit like that and constantly tune everyone out?" The disappointment was so evident in his voice.

It took a few moments for her big brown eyes to meet his. And it took even longer for her to actually sit up and look her part. She was the princess. She was respected. She was snobby and rich and perfect. _Grit your teeth and power through, Katherine. You can do this,_ she encouraged herself. "Sorry, Father. I'm listening," she put on a fake smile, knowing the king could see right through it. But she didn't care. And neither did he. "What were you saying?" she tried again.

Silence passed for a moment as Katherine waited for her father to speak to her again. First, of course, he had to make sure she was listening by staring her down and studying her posture before he opened his mouth to speak. "As I was saying," he continued, his voice all business. "We need to talk about your decision." _Oh dear..._ Out of all the topics in the world, this was the one that Katherine hated the most.

Her decision. A decision she wished she could just ignore till the end of time. It had kept her up all night. It ate at her. It was against everything she believed in. When the letters had come, she'd been told she should've been expecting them. She'd been told it was inevitable. She'd been told it was simply who she was and it was her duty to decide. It was her job to expand her kingdom and let another man control her and tell her what was best for _her_ people. The thought made her feel nauseous. She pushed her plate of food away from her.

"Father, please-" Her voice had been calm, but the anger and frustration in her eyes was all too clear. And Pulitzer cut her off before she could continue.

"Katherine, darling, you know this is something you have to do," he lectured. It was the same lecture she'd been getting ever since the letter came in. "Being asked for your hand in marriage is an honor, sweetheart. Especially from the suitors that you have."

Katherine rolled her eyes. She knew it was improper and she shouldn't have. And she had to hold herself back from looking like a child as she threw a fit. Marriage was not on her bucket list. She was perfectly capable of running a kingdom on her own. She knew her land. She knew her people. She would make a great leader. But it wasn't tradition, and therefore it wasn't her future.

"Young Darcy and William are very well respected men. They come from long lines of noble blood and they are both great leaders." He continued to talk them up. Like she hadn't heard it all before. Like the letters they sent telling her all about them wasn't enough for her to know. They were fine gentlemen. Well respected and well mannered and proper in every way. And that thought made her sick.

When she was little, she used to throw a tantrum every time the maids came to her in the morning with a freshly made, new dress. She hated them. And she refused to wear them until her father came in and gave her that look that told her putting up a fuss would get her no where. They would force her into the thing and she'd be forced to stand up straight and smile and say please and thank you. It was inevitable.

As she grew up, she never minded he dresses so much. But sometimes she'd wish that they weren't so extravagant. Sometimes, she'd sneak off at night, borrowing a pair of trousers from a friend, taking off like a shot on a beautiful white horse that never wanted to stop running.

That is, until the guards went out to find her and drag her back the next morning, unable to wipe the adventurous grin off of her face.

"Then what am I?" Katherine shook her head as her father looked at her, puzzled. "Am I not a good leader?" She knew the answer to that question. She was. She worked hard and studied hard to learn absolutely everything she needed to know about ruling, not to mention the time she'd spent with her people. But her father didn't like the question.

Pulitzer's eyes hardened. "Listen to me, darling," he warned, using the pet name to try and get her to understand he still loved her. "It is not up to us. It's tradition. You know that."

Just because she knew that didn't mean she liked it. It didn't mean she agreed with it. And it didn't mean she was okay with it. So, knowing her words would get her no where, Katherine simply stood from the table and fixed her light, morning gown as she gave her father one last glare before calmly turning away. But, before she went, she turned back. That well prepared food was not to be wasted. So the princess picked it up and walked away with it, ignoring the burning on the back of her head from where her father was glaring at her for having such manners. But she didn't care. In fact, a smirk made its way to the beauty's pink lips, and she nodded and smiled to the people working as walked, acknowledging each one of them by name before making her way back into her castle.

It wasn't long before she had company, either.

"Hey there, Princess." The greeting brought a slight smile to her lips. Katherine stopped in her tracks as she heard it, her hands still holding her breakfast plate and her heart still pounding in her chest. Getting up at a meal like that was disrespectful and she was sure to be getting an earful later. But at least she could enjoy this moment.

Her eyes drifted to the wall where the voice had come from. A guard stood there, proud and tall. Well, as tall as he could be. It was true, he was one of the shortest guards in their force. But he was strong as hell and that was clear to anyone who came across him. His tanned skin looked even darker where he stood in the shadows and his dark brown eyes were full of stories and hurts. But the smirk on his face told Katherine that he still had some happiness left in him. "Luca, you know what my father says about lurking."

"I know what your father says about a lot a' things," the Italian man retorted with a smile as he pushed himself off of the wall and began to walk with the princess through the hallway. "Just 'cause he's a king don' automatically make 'im right." For the first time that morning, Katherine laughed.

"I don't know..." the princess shrugged with a smile bright on her face. "He might just be right about this one." But the guard rolled his eyes and bumped her shoulder slightly.

"Shut it, _principessa_ ," he laughed as he followed her. She only scoffed at the title and lead him into a room. A room known all too well to him. And his smile faded.

It was a small room. Old and dirty. There were several cots on the ground, but no bed. Underneath the makeshift pillows, stains could be seen on the ground. Katherine could have guessed that most of them were old blood stains. Some of them new. The walls looked to be rotting away, no paint or any kind of color laced any part of those sad, awful looking walls. But Katherine walked in there like she had a million times before, trying to ignore the fact that the man... the _boy_ behind her had not walked past the door frame.

"Kat..." Suddenly, his sarcastic formality was gone as his wide, deep brown eyes scanned the room that he wished beyond everything would just leave his memory. "You really shouldn' be in here..." His voice had a slight waver in it. One that was rarely heard and rarely used and Luca gripped the doorframe, fearing that he would break the thing if he didn't just toughen up and see this as what it was a the moment. _It's just a room,_ he told himself. _You're fine._ He wasn't fine. He was no where near fine.

_"Get moving, you little rat!_

_"How dare you mess up again?!"_

_"You are not to talk to anyone when you make your rounds! Is that clear?!"_

A whip cracked and echoed in the disaster that was the boy's memories. And he held himself down, forcing away a flinch and taking a step backwards. He licked his lips and stared at the ground, waiting patiently for the woman... the _girl_ inside, to finish whatever she was doing. He was the toughest guard in that castle. He didn't have weakness.

Katherine didn't respond, only relaxed a bit at the nickname she'd been given. Her father would throw a fit if he ever heard anyone call her that besides a noble or a suitor or himself. Her own personal guard shouldn't have had such privileges. But she didn't care.

The guard- _Luca_ \- was closer to her than anyone. No one knew her or understood her like he did. From the beginning, they were a perfect fit. Katherine couldn't imagine what her plain life would be like if another guard was watching her every waking minute. She couldn't help but feel slightly miserable at the very thought.

Carefully, she made her way to the back wall of the room. It was like she'd done the same thing everyday for years. Silently, she kneeled down and placed the plate of food down on the floor. After that, she took the cleanest blanket she could find and she covered it. "Do you think it'll be enough?" Her voice was so low. Barely above a whisper. She looked guiltily at the food. It was a meal she had everyday. A proper, probably amazing meal from the kitchen. But it was only one.

Luca sighed. He bit his lip and took a quick glance around the room. "I think it'll be more than enough, sorella ... anythin' is more than 'nough fer fellas who ain't eaten in days..." The words weren't meant to offend, despite the bitterness they swam in. They both knew that. But she looked back at him with a heartbroken look in her eyes. And Luca immediately felt guilt consume him. "C'mon, doll, don' look like that..." The Italian boy offered her a small smile and pushed himself off the wall, suddenly able to ignore where he was and just see the beautiful girl in front of him. "They's lucky they's got a leada' like you in the makin'." He was genuine. His eyes told the whole story.

The princess smiled and stood, nodding and trying to tell herself it was true. It didn't work. She still had tears in her eyes. "Not if Darcy or Bill have anything to say about it." Katherine pushed her way out of the door and closed it behind her, allowing her guard to follow her. But she didn't make it very far before she was spun around by the wrist and held by the shoulders, gently but firmly.

"You listen ta me, Princess," Luca ordered, looking the girl dead in the eyes and not allowing her a moment to look away. "You is one a' the smartest gals out there." His voice was so stern and commanding. It didn't surprise anyone that folks everywhere were scared of him. He was intimidating. "Ya ain't helpless. Ya know how ta hold your own in any kinda fight. Even if ya do have ta marry eitha' a' those pigs-"

"Luca..." She knew he didn't like them. Hell, she didn't either. Not that they were bad men, of course. She was sure they were nice enough. But she wasn't even eighteen. They were... _men_. But Luca has a stronger opinion than she did. He _hated_ them. Not that the princess could blame him. After all the boy had gone through in his life, she was shocked at how he could still keep his calm in the same room as her father.

A quick silence ran over them for a second as the guard took in her warning. She was right. They couldn't be talking like that here. Not when there was a chance someone could hear them. "Look..." he sighed, still holding onto her and looking into her big brown eyes. "I just need ya ta know that this place... the whole goddamn _kingdom_ needs _you_. Not no one else."

Her laugh light up the dark hallway they stood in. It was quiet and small and quick, but it was still there. And she reached her hands up to wipe at her eyes. "Thanks..." she spoke, a small smile on her face.

A smirk took over his, looking natural and carefree and tough. "Anytime, _Your Highness_." Luca chuckle when she rolled her eyes and began walking away. She hated those names. _Proper_ names. And he knew it better than anyone. But he loved to tease her.

Making her way through the castle was the highlight of her day. After all, she was rarely allowed outside of it. Her father feared she may try and take off. She couldn't say he was wrong. She _could_ say it wasn't healthy how much he didn't trust her to do as she pleased. Katherine would not abandon her kingdom. She wouldn't abandon her people. It was clear to everyone but those against her.

As the girl made her rounds through her home, Luca was right on her tail. As was his job. He was to keep an eye on her at all times. And he wasn't supposed to be quiet about it, although he wasn't always much of a conversationalist. Katherine didn't ever mind. Sometimes, she enjoyed the way they could move in a comfortable silence. But, Luca also knew when she needed a distraction. When she needed to talk to someone. So he would strike up a random conversation. He was the brother she'd never had. Someone to look out for her and protect her and _know_ her. Unlike anyone else who simply looked at her and saw that she was a woman. According to everyone else, a woman wasn't worth knowing like that. That is precisely why she was more than thankful for Luca.

Eventually, they made their way outside. She smiled as the fresh air hit her face. It was cool even though the sun was shining brightly above the beautiful green world she lived in. "Luca?" Her voice was soft and calm as she walked, forgetting for a moment that behind her was a huge, magnificent castle that was her own prison. The boy hummed in response. "Before you were a guard..." she hesitated. She'd known Luca for years. Before she'd chosen him to look out for her. But these things... he didn't like to look back on. The past, _his_ past, was difficult for him to speak of. But she wanted to know. "Where was your favorite place to go?"

It was at that moment that Luca realized where he was following his princess to. And he stopped in his tracks. " _Again_ , Katie?" There was a certain knowing in his voice. Not judgmental or annoyed. _Curious_. "Last time you did this was only a few weeks ago and ya almost got caught." A cheeky smile appeared on her face as she just quickened her pace and ran towards the stable door.

Throwing it open and happily running inside, the girl finally turned back to him. "C'mon, Luke! I won't have much time left if I'm forced into marriage preparations!" She knew he hated it. She knew that sentence would make him angry at her entire situation. And she knew that sigh when she heard it, even if she didn't turn around to see his crossed arms and rolling of his eyes.

"Not today..." Luca shook his head and tried to hide a smile. The princess and him were never supposed to be friends. He was supposed to be cold and distant, like he was with everyone else. But he couldn't help it. Her spirit and energy just reminded him of someone. Someone he missed dearly. And he couldn't help but love her like the sister he'd never had. So he walked past her, his feet taking a familiar path down to a beautiful brown stallion that stood tall in the room, ready to be set free. With a steady hand, he stroked its nose and laughed when the horse leaned towards his touch. He knew her eyes were on him. So he figured he might as well answer her question.

"There's a forest... it's right near the river," he began describing, much to her delight. He didn't look at her as he spoke, letting his small smile be directed at the horse, instead of betraying his memories and telling her absolutely everything that was running through his mind. "There's a creek that runs through it. Real peaceful place..." Luca but his lip to conceal a small laugh. " _Mostly_ ," he added, biting his lip to keep himself from laughing at the images that played in his head.

Katherine tried to not let her curiosity get the better of her. She cautiously took a few steps closer to him, prompting him to continue. "Yeah?"

"Me an' Hot Shot, here," he gestured to the horse, "used ta take off down that creek till Wiesel couldn't see us no more." The name made both of them shiver. But, despite everything that happened afterwards, he actually laughed as he told the story. "They's knew I wus comin' back, but it didn't matta' none. They's still hated it when I did that... but it was worth it..." At that, his smile did fade, just slightly. He gained back his natural, hardened composure and took a step back from his favorite horse.

The change in his stance and expression was no where near new to the royal woman. She still held a sad smile on her face as she very carefully placed a hand on her guards arm. "You miss it..." It wasn't a question.

The guard couldn't deny that. But he shook his head. "Not all of it..." Not the room. Not the beatings and the starvation and the working out in the heat till he passed out. He didn't miss _it_. He missed _them_. "But me an' Hot Shot ain't gone on a ride in foreva'..."

A silence passed over them as Katherine let her friend reminisce on the old days. She smiled as he pet his favorite horse and wondered how it was that he could still be intimidating while being so gentle with a magnificent creature. But she just watched him, admiring how he could look back at a hard time in his life and find the small pleasures that came with it.

 _Soon..._ she swore to herself in the silence. _Soon, I'll get out of here, and I'll take him with me..._ It sounded too sweet in her head. Too perfect to be able to come true. But she would make it happen. _Soon, we'll be free..._

Little did she know there was a boy across the kingdom, wishing and praying for the exact same thing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn’t like, what you’d change or what you’d improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, babes!


	3. Chapter 3

If there was one thing Jack Kelly knew, it was that work was never done.

The maids were more than likely sleeping at this ungodly hour. Jack didn't have it in himself to actually assess what time it was. All he knew was that it was dark and that he was the only one left awake, doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen and dining room.

Though, as the boy of the house looked over to his right, he smiled a little bit. Crutchie was slumped over in a chair, his heavy head resting on the old, wooden table of the kitchen. The ones that the boys and the maids would occasionally eat at when they were allowed. The kid was fast asleep, having completed all of his work and refused to go down with the rest of the boys when Jack had asked.

It amazed Jack, how close he could be with a boy that was supposed to be nothing more than property. Nothing more than trade and cash. Only that, that was wrong. They were so much more than that. They were human too. They were flesh and blood too. Their bones could break and their arms could bleed. They weren't animals. They weren't money. They were Jack's friends. His _brothers_. His world. Protecting them was everything to him.

His parents hadn't been cruel. So unlike Snyder and his little monsters it was unreal. They were the kingdoms most beautiful couple, despite what others had to say about it. Jack was sure his father was the kindest man on the planet, and his mother, the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen. They were the masters of this beautiful house where they raised him and taught him everything he knew.

_"Be kind."_

_"Never turn away someone who needs you."_

_"Do things out of the kindness of your heart."_

_"Protect those who need protecting."_

_"Slaves aren't objects. They're people too."_

Those words were smothered by the hatred and bitterness of his mother's new husband almost as soon as he entered their lives. It was hard to think about. Life before everything turned dark, that is. It was painful to think of the childhood he had. It was golden; the most beautiful thing he could ever think of. His mother had the most beautiful smile, and his father the purest of all laughs. But it was gone. And their memory was stomped upon by a man that didn't understand the value of life and how it could be taken in seconds.

Thinking about it made him sigh. She was better than this, his _mother_ was better than this. After they'd found his father out in the fields... she never was the same. She didn't speak as much, God knows that Jack would've loved to hear her sing to him just one more time. Her paintbrush was forgotten that day along with her joys and passions. The love of her life was gone. And with him, he took her heart.

It wasn't meant to be like that. His father wasn't supposed to die like that... alone... probably in pain. He wasn't supposed to collapse in the fields with no one by his side.

His mother... she'd gone with him right when they'd found him. Jack remembered rushing out when one of the servants had spluttered out some mad, terrified plea or call or _something_. All the little boy had head was _"He's not breathing!"_ before they were both running to his side. Everything after that was silent. All Jack could remember was the sound of his own heart beating vividly in his ears as he watched his mother fall to her knees, her hand over her mouth as the rest of the world had fallen with her love.

_"He's gone..."_

Those words... those were the words that had ruined her, the words that had ruined _him_. Jack was never the same carefree loving boy that he'd been before, because his father- the one who'd taught him so much and made sure he laughed everyday- was suddenly gone. And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

His mother was a different story. She was never cruel to anyone. She just lost herself. She was quiet and withdrawn and she never spoke up for anything or about anything. Not until one day she told him that he'd have a new father. A new father that would bring two new brothers. They had been cruel from the start.

Thinking about it all was terrible. He'd heard slaps and cries coming from his mother's room. He'd heard her screaming at the man to just stop it because this was her home and that was her son and she married because she was _terrified_... So utterly terrified that she wouldn't be enough for Jack and they would lose everything... and Jack wanted nothing more than to just make it all stop.

His mother had been the strongest person he'd ever known, once upon a time. A woman who would stand up for everything she believed in no matter who stood in front of her. His father had always joked about sending her to the palace to have her talk about how terrible it was to enslave children. He'd tell her that she could convince anyone of anything so why shouldn't she convince the mighty Pulitzer that he was wrong?

Everything was perfect before. His parents were loving and kind to everyone. They loved their servant and they only called them slaves when someone of high status came by. But they never were cruel. Jack would never forget watching his father take Crutchie- a scared young boy without a name or a family- and carrying him up on his shoulders through the fields, showing him every little snippet of their land. He would never forget when his mother had taken Finch by the hand guided him through the trees, showing him plenty of different birds and animals and telling him which ones they loved, and which ones needed to be gone. Everything had been done with a laugh and a smile as she'd shown him and he gave her a hug by the end of that day. She accepted them no matter what. And Jack would never forget when his mother had picked JoJo up, out of the mud, and carried a terrified little boy through the house so that she could mend a hurt knee. Jack would never forget when he came back running to the house with a tiny Italian boy in his arms and his parents came running to encircle the slaves from next door with so much love and safety it was almost overwhelming.

His parents were beautiful together. They were beautiful in whatever they did because everything they did was done with grace and kindness. They loved him like no one else ever would and they taught him everything. Who to be and how to be it. They taught him how to walk and talk and laugh and love and grow. His mother taught him art and his father taught him how to ride the horses.

He missed them. He hated the fact that he knew that if they were here in this moment and they saw Crutchie laying across the table like he was, absolutely exhausted and refusing to go to bed until Jack did, that they would tell Jack to drop what he was doing and to take that boy down stairs. So he laughed to himself a little bit, imagining his mother's smile in his head and his father's laugh. He imagined his father coming up to him and wrapping him up in strong arms and giving him a quick kiss on the head. And then his mother, taking his face in his hands and pressing her lips to his forehead.

 _"Goodnight..."_ they'd say as they walked away, hand in hand.

A beautiful golden couple that the kingdom had long forgotten about.

"Goodnight," Jack whispered, dropping the clean dishes onto the counter and taking a moment to blink back the tears and stop himself from thinking about how life might have turned out _if only_... because those were dangerous words. And when he looked back at that little boy he had been protecting so fiercely for years, dangerous was out of the question. So he walked over to the kid and carefully scooped him up.

The kid's legs wrapped around him almost instantly and his arms locked around his neck as Jack smiled and let the boy's head rest on his shoulder. "I gotcha, kid..." he muttered quietly before turning to walk down to the basement where the boys slept. "I gotcha..."

Next door, another boy lie awake, his blue eyes refusing to shut for reasons he didn't understand. Race had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried not to let it get to him, but it had. Something bad was bound to happen. Something always did, but this felt... different. Like something darker was coming for him. He didn't like the feeling.

The cell he was locked in was small. Him and three other boys shared it. Their master was scared they might run if they weren't locked up during the night. And that was fine with Race as long as it was him and Romeo in the same cell.

His baby brother was fast asleep on top of him. The boy was grateful for that. The last thing he'd ever want to do is worry that kid. _His_ kid. The one he practically raised. Romeo was his and he'd proudly correct anyone who said otherwise, even if it meant he'd be walking around with a black eye for the next week or so. He wasn't afraid of a beating every now and again. What scared him was the noose. Because if one day he didn't come back, that meant Romeo was alone and scared and Race couldn't bare the thought. It was far too painful.

Running hands through the little boy's dark brown hair was what kept Race sane during nights like this. Nights when Albert was snoring and Specs was mumbling through his dreams of happier times and happier places. Both boys had been taken from their parents without their parents consent. Both still had hope that one day things would change for them and they'd be able to go back home. But Race and Romeo were a different story. They didn't have a home. They were sold willingly and that was the most painful thing that Race thought he'd ever have to live with.

He didn't know how wrong he'd be someday.

The blue eyed Italian boy let his chest rise and fall, watching his brother move with his breath. Romeo's head rested right below his chin and the rest of him was stretched out along Race's chest. He couldn't help himself from pressing gentle, careful kisses to the boy's head every few moments. He loved the boy more than life. Nothing would ever be more dear or more important to him. So he held the boy in his arms and played with his hair, ignoring everyone else around him until he was lulled to sleep by the memories of when they'd been able to run free through fields and forests before they'd pass out of exhaustion.

They'd been young, but they'd been happy.

"Ti voglio bene, fratellino..."

Oh how quickly and drastically things could change...

"Good mornin', Master Kelly!"

The boy of the house looked up with a smile upon his lips as three wonderful women found their way into the kitchen during the late morning. Jack was sure they'd had other chores to do before cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast. "Good mornin', Meredith!" he greeted happily as she strolled over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He returned it before nodding at the other ladies and then reverting his gaze back down to the canvas on the table in front of him. He let his old, worn pencil sketch across the once white page.

"Another portrait for Miss Medda, dear?" Beth asked as she grabbed a rag and got to work. Jack smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe," he replied shyly. "Just couldn't sleep last night and decided I needed somethin' ta do..."

It really was a beautiful drawing of a castle that stood tall above the entire kingdom. Jack figured he could give it to Medda in exchange for some food for his boys. Though, she always insisted he didn't need to give her anything, even if she did love his art.

"Have the masters eaten?" Jack nodded at the question.

"They ate and then went out to do God knows what," he answered easily. "I just sent some food ova' ta the boys, so's I should probably-"

That was it. That was the last thing Jack could say before it happened. Before everything changed and there was no going back.

The door slammed open, the loud noise echoing through the house as a boy- breathless and gasping for air- trembled with adrenaline and terror. His brown eyes were so wide and he was clearly traumatized at whatever he'd just seen. Jack was out of his chair in an instant.

"JoJo?" he asked carefully, not wanting to frighten the boy anymore. But when he started walking closer to the kid, those big brown eyes just began to let the tears fall. He shook his head, at a loss for words. And Jack's stomach plummeted as he was terrified to ask what just happened.

JoJo latched a shaky hand onto Jack's wrist, before his shaky, traumatized voice met the older boy's ears. "Ya gotta come quick..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review. Love ya, kids!


	4. Chapter 4

"Ya gotta come quick..." That was all the warning Jack got before he was being dragged out into his field by a frantic boy he'd known for what felt like forever.

The sight that Jack was led out to see was the one that the boy had been terrified of seeing for years. The one that made his heart tear apart in complete and utter agony as he held in the screams that so desperately wanted to rip from his throat. He held himself up, no matter how much his knees begged him to just give up; to give in and let him fall. Everything hurt so much. Everything was screaming at him to do something. _Make it stop, make it stop! Wake up, Kelly! This ain't happenin'!_

Only it was. It was happening. Right in front of him, already a mile away was a carriage. It had two horses pulling it along the beautiful, bitter dirt road that lead into the center of the kingdom. There was a man that steered it who held the reigns and a whip in his hand. Only, that whip wasn't for the horses. It was for who was behind them in that silver cage that was being dragged along the path towards the auction house.

"No..." Even Jack's whisper came out as a plea for this all just to be some kind of nightmare. "Jo... please..." Jack felt the lump in his throat that he couldn't swallow and he felt his heart ready to burst in anger and agony. "Please tell me that ain't... I can't..."

"The masta' from next door..." the poor boy began, his voice shaking with anguish and sorrow. "He was arrested... no one knows why. But his slaves ain't his no more..." his voice broke at the end as more tears fell.

It was instinct. Jack didn't know how his legs began moving without his consent, but suddenly, he was beginning to chase after that carriage that carried his boys away from him. His boys who were probably beaten and crying and terrified at the thought of being separated soon. But the hand around his wrists pulled him back, which was much too easy with the strength Jack was losing as he continued to watch that carriage ride further and further away from those boys' family. "Wait, Jack!" the young boy cried, his whole body still trembling. "There's more!"

"More?" How could there possibly be more? Nothing could've prepared him for what had just happened and there was nothing that could be worse than this.

"Oscar and Morris bought some of them!"

 _Oh God..._ That bittersweet statement almost broke Jack. He wanted his brother with him be he also wanted them far _far_ away from the dreaded Delancey brothers. So he asked the awful question that he was so afraid of discovering the answer to... "who?" The word was breathless and terrified because he knew the inevitable answer that would soon come his way.

JoJo lost more and more tears as he stuttered for a moment before just letting a few names slip from his mouth. "Albert, Specs n'..." he couldn't say it. He didn't want to say it. Saying it made it real. It made it too true. But Jack's green eyes gently stared at him, just waiting for the name to be said. Surely he knew which it would be. That didn't make it any easier. "n' Race..."

Jack felt his heart break at the last name. Albert and Specs could survive, no problem. But _Race_? Jack didn't even know if the kid would make it through the night. He waited for the list to continue, wishing for at least one more name. But JoJo was silent. And that just made it so much worse. Because he had to ask the question that could have no good answer...

"Romeo?"

A shake of the head was all it took for Jack to start running. He was sprinting to the place where he knew they had to be. JoJo wasn't far behind him. It wasn't long before Jack heard the screams of a boy that had just lost his entire world.

"Lasciami andare! Posso ancora salvare mio fratello! Lasciami andare!"

Jack could hear the chains that were being pulled on so desperately by a little boy who just wanted to be let go so he could get to his baby brother. If it was possible, the boy of the house ran faster at the terrified screams. The hallway was too long and too dark for Jack in that moment. He tried in vain to wipe away the tears that were beginning to stain his cheeks as he neared the door of the basement. He hadn't heard such cries in a long time and he had never wanted to relive losing the people he was closest to.

The cruel world didn't seem to give a damn.

"Romeo!"

By the time Jack reached the door, his heart was torn in pieces.

The boy of the house shoved the door open and froze at the scene in front of him, knowing none of those boys had even heard the loud creak of the wood. Albert and Specs stood directly in front of him. Both of them were sobbing and shaking, standing back unsure of what to do. They blocked the screaming Italian from view. And so Jack stepped further into the room, gently pushing the guilty looking boys out of his way. That's when he saw Race.

The crates that were pushed up against the wall was being used as a chair by the struggling boy who sounded like he was having immense trouble breathing. His wrists and ankles were bound in chains that were there as a means to keep him weak and vulnerable. His face was turning pink from raw, anguished Italian screams as he fought against the restraints, making his wrists begin to cut and bruise. He had tears spilling down his cheeks. He didn't even attempt to wipe them away. Crutchie and Finch were doing their best to hold him still but Race was too frantic. He just kept constantly pushing them away from him.

"I'm so sorry, Jack..." Albert whispered from behind him. The oldest of them all turned to find the fiery redhead holding back sobs while Specs tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Al just moved from the touch, not believing he deserved it and before Jack was able to understand what the boy was apologizing for, more screams met his ears.

"Mi hai tenuto indietro! I coulda stopped 'em!" Jack was sure Race had no idea he was even speaking in his native tongue. The kid had never been so stressed and worked up in his life. "You's held me back! I coulda stopped it!" Sweat slid down the boy's forehead. Jack knew he had to get him to stop fighting so hard. He was going to hurt himself and everyone around him.

For a moment, Jack caught Crutchie's eye. The amount of pain that was shared within just one look was too much to bear. Jack clutched at his chest where he was sure his heart was going to shatter. It hurt more than words could possibly describe.

The boy with the glasses shook his head, grabbing Albert's arm when the younger boy tried to move forward towards his flailing friend. Then he turned to Jack. "They had a sword... Race was fighting too hard an' they coulda'..." it was too much for anyone to have to watch one of their closest friends be wrestled to the ground, crying and screaming out for his little brother to be back in his arms only for a sword to be lifted over his head without his acknowledgment at all. "Al held him down so's they wouldn't _kill him_..." he explained in a whisper. "That's when they put the chains on him..."

There were so many tears streaming down too many of his brothers' faces. Jack wished for them to go away. He'd give anything for a smile right now. He'd give anything to be able to travel back through time and stop it before it happened.

_This ain't real... this can't be happenin'..._

It took everything in Jack to keep himself from just collapsing. These boys needs someone strong to look to for guidance and assurance and _help._

The clanking of the chains was painful to hear along with the screams and cries of the boy who wore them. He was vigorously fighting with the restraints and for a moment, no one could move, no one could speak... no one could breathe. Race was gasping for air like he never had before and Albert was watching him with pained eyes. "Stop it, Race!" he yelled finally, such a desperation in his voice that none of them had ever heard. "Ya can't get out!"

Fierce blue eyes shot over to the red headed boy and there was silence. Not the good kind of silence. Not a kind of silence when Jack thought maybe he could approach the boy, rather a kind of silence where everyone felt like the could hear the gears turning in Race's head. They could feel the fire burning in him, red hot with fury and helplessness. What started as a growl became a scream that ripped from the slave's throat as he tore himself from Crutchie and Finch's hold and threw himself at his friend who had audacity to hold him back; the boy who held him down as he was chained up. Albert jumped backwards in surprise and screamed as he saw his friend like that. He'd never felt more guilty for anything in his entire life. Race blamed him in that moment for keeping him from the only blood he had left. His _fratellino_.

Instinct took over as Jack lunged forward and caught the boy around the waist, letting the younger kid ram into his chest. The frantic child fought hard against him. He tried to push through him, desperate for a fight, ready to take someone down and let his anger out, but Jack held him in his arms so tightly that the kid couldn't even think about trying to escape his embrace. The child screamed, his body collapsing into the embrace, and Jack couldn't help the tears that overtook him at the wordless cries. He wanted to tear down walls too. He wanted to fight too. He wanted his boys back too! But Race needed him. Race was too reckless and frantic to be left without him; without Jack's arms around him.

Eventually, Race's legs gave out and he slumped against the older boy, letting the seventeen year old hold him up as he wanted nothing more than for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. His screams didn't cease. His cries of his baby brother's name didn't stop. Race clung to Jack's shirt, unable to wrap his arms around his friend's back. Jack gently pushed the younger boy back onto the crate he had been sitting on before, and did not let the wailing child out of his arms.

His eyes were squeezed shut as he continued his sobs that had somehow turned into ear shattering screams. He was hyperventilating and his screams were quieted as he gasped for air before burying his soaked face into Jack's shirt. The older boy just shushed him shakily, and rubbed his back while he tried to speak. "H-he's... he's gone..." the boy cried, licking his lips and realizing that his tears were too much for his body to handle. He was sure to pass out soon. "I c-couldn't sto-stop it... Romeo's gone..." the boy hiccuped.

The boy's head slipped down until it was resting against his protector's stomach and Jack ran a hand over the back of his hair, trying desperately to calm him. Race's hands were holding his shirt in a death grip as his entire body trembled and all Jack could do was shush him and let him keep crying. "I know, kid..." he replied, knowing full well that his own voice shook with every word. All he could do was press a kiss to the boy's curly blond hair and hold him to his chest.

"Well, well... look at this, Morris..." The entire room tensed at the mocking voice that they could pick out anywhere. Through teary eyes, Jack was barely able to glance back through the door and see his two stepbrothers with sick smirks on their faces. "The pathetic just become even more pathetic." Jack held the boy to him tighter. The rest of the boys stood with their heads bowed, not daring to look their new masters in the eye. Crutchie, Finch and JoJo stood back behind Race while the others were still near the door.

When the two boys started walking closer to them in the deafening silence, Race tried to wiggle away from Jack's arms. Jack just held him still. "Don' move, Racer. Stay here, I gotcha..." So Race hesitantly stayed, almost laying in Jack's lap, letting the older boy cradle the back of his head as it was pressed to his tummy.

But the two thieves of his childhood home didn't like the idea of Race staying down. And they were determined to make it known. "Why don't you all be good little slaves and get to work before I sent Oscar for a whip," Morris sneered, glaring harshly at Race who had his eyes squeezed shut as he buried himself in Jack's embrace.

The worry and anguish that was eating Jack alive right now for his brothers who were on their way to who knows where was almost equaled by the panic he felt for the boy inside his arms in that moment. Race could hardly breathe or walk alone, let alone do work. But Oscar didn't seem to care as he squatted down to the Italian boy's level, simply shoving Jack's arm away when he tried to push him away. "Did ya not hear my brotha', _slave_?" the boy spat at Race while the kid's bright blue eyes peaked open. "Get ta work. _Now_."

"He can hardly stand, Oscar!" Jack argued, holding the boy as tight as could without harming him. "He just lost his brotha'! Give him some time ta calm down!"

The Italian boy avoided making eye contact with his worst enemy. His new _master_. God he hated that word more than anything in the world. So he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the fact that both of Jack's stepbrothers were staring him down, waiting for him to make one wrong move so they could do as they pleased with him.

"Well, what would that teach him, Jack?" another voice came from the doorway. The three boys that knew the voice immediately dropped to their knees, their heads still bowed as their owner came through the door. Crutchie's crutch hit the ground with a thud as he dropped down. He didn't care. But when Albert and Specs didn't follow suit, he couldn't help but look up and see their innocent, confused faces. When he nodded, Specs grabbed Al's arm and pulled him down quick, before the man of the house began walking into the room.

"Mr. Snyda', please-" Jack began, shifting Race so the boy was more behind him than anything else and pleading with his stepfather to stop with a simple look in his eyes before he was cut off.

"He is my property, _Kelly_!" the man growled out, stepping closer to Jack so he was almost in his face. The boy anticipated a slap but refused to tense on account of the boy curled into him, shaking with fear and anger and hopelessness. The kid was gasping for much needed air that wouldn't reach his lungs and Jack wouldn't scare him further. "He needs to learn respect. After all I've heard from his previous owner about him, that needs to start _now_!"

While Snyder was looming over his stepson and the hyperventilating child in his arms, Oscar and Morris were having a field day walking around and taunting the others who all held back their own tears. But Race cowered further in on himself as Jack practically shielded him from his new owner. "Mr. Snyder, he can hardly breathe-"

"Shut it, Jack!" At that, he couldn't help the flinch that took over his body. He didn't have to look over to see his other three boys flinch at the yell too. He couldn't help but feel pain for the three who'd never met the man that now controlled them. They'd only heard awful, ugly stories. "He is gonna get up, he is gonna get to work, or he will be punished!"

"I'll do it for him!" Jack tried desperately, hearing his friend gasp for air. "Just let him rest for one day! Please..."

"Per favore! Per favore, sarò buono! Per favore fermati!" Race was frantic. He struggled but stilled as soon as Snyder glared at him and he quickly realized that his fighting needed to stop if he wanted to live to see another day.

When Jack had lost his world, his father... his _mother_... he was given time. But Race was a slave, he didn't have time. He had work that had to be done because he wasn't a child, he was property. He didn't deserve to have feelings and that thought made Jack feel sick.

When Snyder didn't move, Jack glanced over to find that his step brothers were advancing. It wasn't long before Morris was grabbing at him, forcing his grip loose as Oscar grabbed Race's hair and dragged him to the ground, screaming and sobbing all the same.

"What the hell are you doin'?!" Jack screamed, struggling in the hold that Morris had on him. It wasn't long before his stepfather also grabbed ahold of his hair to keep him still. After all that had happened in the past few terrible minutes of Jack's life, he could do nothing but let the tears fall down his face. "He didn't do nothin'!" It was no use. They weren't listening. They didn't care.

The younger of the two bullies put a foot on the slave's back, pushing him all the way down to the ground and pinning him there. The blond boy's hands were stretched above his head and he couldn't have done anything to get up. "I am not gonna let you walk around shouting things that I don't understand," the boy growled. "If I hear another word of Italian, you get the whip, understand?!"

Jack watched his friend's face be filled with sorrow and his heart shattered into pieces. Race adored his Italian nature. It was his native tongue and apart of who he was. It was how he would sing his brother to sleep at night and how he would calm the boy down after something terrible happened. It was how he would vent out his anger when no one could know what he had said. And it was being taken away from him like it was some mere object instead of a piece of him.

Race yelped when he felt a shove into his back. "Do you understand, _slave_?"

"Yes!" Race forced out, terrified of what might happen if he disobeyed the boy that had been out to get him since the beginning. His voice cracked. But Oscar wasn't done yet.

"Yes what?" Jack wanted nothing more than to tackle the entitled boy to the ground. There was no way to express the anger that burned inside him as he watched his little brother chained up on the ground. Race was shaking, _wailing_ because he just lost the only blood relative he had left. When slaves were separated, it was rare that they'd ever see each other again. Race knew that. And Oscar was having too much fun tormenting a broken child who did nothing to deserve it. He hadn't even gotten a chance to say goodbye to his brother, Jack had no doubts about that.

Silence passed over the room for a moment. It was long and the kid on the ground breathed hard, trying to hold back more sobs. Sniffles could be heard from near the doorway as Albert held back his own guilty tears, but Oscar didn't care. "Go get the whip."

"Yes masta'!" Race finally shouted, praying it wasn't too late. His hands flew up behind his neck, wanting off the floor, wanting out of that house, wanting his brother back. He wanted so many things he couldn't have. He was property and had no right to the tears streaming down his face. He was just a slave, practically nothing more than a pet that did work for their masters. "Yes masta'..." he repeated, hating the words but knowing it was all he could say.

Jack shook his head and stopped struggling when his defiant friend gave in like that. The kid was so scared and Jack hated that more than anything in the world. What made it worse was that the fear had every right to be there. They would surely try and kill him, work him to death even, and Race _should_ be scared. That's what broke Jack's heart the most.

Catching Crutchie's eye, he tried to convince the boy that it wold be alright. But before he could get across any kind of reassuring look, his hair was pulled and Snyder threw him to the ground like yesterday's garbage. "Do your chores. This damn house better be spotless by nightfall!" Those were Snyder's words as he stomped out the door, Morris following quickly behind him. But Oscar stayed a few more moments, still holding his new pet to the ground, smirking at his pathetic position.

"See ya lata', Racetrack," he smirked. And that was when he made his way over to the door.

Jack couldn't have been happier when they left. And without a second thought, all of the boys ran to Race's shaking form on the ground. Jack could feel the boy tense beneath his touch, ready to get punished for something he didn't do. But Jack shushed him. "It's me, kid..." he assured, pulling his friend to him. The boy sniffled but didn't try to struggle away from his older friend.

Helping Race up to his knees was difficult for Jack. The kid was barely trying to use his own strength. In that moment, Jack truly feared that Race would just collapse and allow the cruel world to beat him to a bloody pulp. The kid wouldn't look up at him, instead he just sat there trying to control his panicked breathing. His head hung low and Jack just sat in front of him, waiting for him to say something.

"Race..." The boy of the house felt his heart somehow breaking even more as he watched what happened next. Albert whispered the boy's name and lowered himself next to the shaking kid. He placed a hand on his shoulder. They were such good friends. Jack knew that. But he watched as Race shrugged away from the touch and curled in on himself, trying to hide from the redheaded boy.

Specs felt himself trying to stop sobbing as he watched his friend struggle to breath. His whole body shook with every hiccup of a breath he took. And Specs wanted to get him out of those chains so badly. But he couldn't.

"C'mon, kid... ya gotta breathe for me..." Jack urged gently, trying to prevent scaring the kid more. Then he looked around quickly before his eyes finally landed on Finch. "Finch! Get him some wata'," he ordered gently. His whole body hurt, praying for him to find some way to fix it. There wasn't. Not unless he could go back in time and miraculously stop his father from dying. That is when this nightmare of a life had started.

"They can do whateva' they want ta me, Jack..." Race voice was broken.

Jack felt his heart tighten. "Race..."

"They _own_ me..." He was terrified. Jack was sure he'd never heard the boy sound so petrified. And all Jack could do was wrap his arm around Race and let him cry against him as the boy relaxed into his embrace. "Romeo... Vogl-" the words almost just rolled right off his tongue as he sat in his older friend's embrace, but he couldn't finish them. More tears found their way down his soaked cheeks. "I want Romeo... I wan' my brotha'..." he croaked out as his throat continued to tighten.

Tears welled up even more in Jack's eyes as his friend stopped himself from saying the words that might've even brought him some comfort. "Boys, get ta work, please..." he asked, quietly. "I don't want none of ya gettin' in trouble." Reluctantly, the boys moved away from Race, all but Crutchie, who moved to sit on his knees where Albert had been sitting before. And he watched the others leave with tears streaming down their faces. But they did as they were told. But before Finch could leave, he handed the cup of water to Jack and made sure he could still hear the sound of his friend breathing, before he shakily nodded and left the room.

Carefully, Jack sat his friend up so he could look at him. Of course, those perfect blue eyes refused to look anywhere but the ground. Still, Jack held the cup up to Race's lips and the boy didn't fight him as he poured it into his mouth, desperate for him to calm down.

The cool liquid that ran down the boy's throat felt good, but Race couldn't even hold himself up anymore. He finally felt Jack allow him rest his head on his thigh. Jack kept running a hand over the back of his head, tangling his fingers into the blond locks of the younger boy's hair, trying to calm him down. And Crutchie rubbed his back. Soothing strokes moved up and down his spine as he shook.

"They held me back..." Jack shushed his friend as his heart broke. He found himself wishing he could take the kid's pain away from him. He'd much rather it be on himself rather than this poor boy who had done nothing wrong. "I coulda stopped 'em..."

Crutchie felt tears fall from his eyes. "Race..." He didn't know what to say. Not even Jack did. They just sat there as he hyperventilated, sobbing over something that shouldn't have happened.

"I-I ain't neva' g-gonna see him again..." Jack leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of the boy's head. "H-he's j-just... gone..."

The room was drown in anger and regret in that moment. Maybe if they had done something different this wouldn't have happened. Maybe they could've stopped it. But Jack hated himself for allowing himself to think like that. What had happened had happened. It was over. One day, he'd tear down everything in his way to find each and everyone of his boys, but right now he still had brothers to protect. That day though... had to be soon. He didn't know how long he had before he lost any or all of them for good...

"C'mon, Racer..." Jack whispered before helping the shaking boy up, placing him back on the crate he'd been sitting on before and allowing him to continue to sob onto him.

"Jack... if the mastas find him like this-" Crutchie tried, but Jack didn't want to hear it. The masters could leave them for a few minutes. A few minutes wouldn't kill them.

"He can't work like this," Jack explained, holding the boy close as he mumbled things into his shirt. Jack was sure it was Italian. He tried to keep from saying anything about it. Protecting Race wasn't gonna be easy. Not when he wasn't following orders. And they all knew it. But Jack would fight till the bitter end to keep Race safe. He loved the kid just as much as he'd loved his own family. He loved all those kids just as much as he'd loved his own family.

"They'll hurt him, Jack..." Jack knew Crutchie was telling the truth. The Delanceys had done this on purpose. They'd bought Race on purpose. They longed for the days they would get to torment him... _torture_ him, for reasons Jack didn't understand. He knew he had to protect this boy the best he could. Otherwise, he wasn't sure the poor kid would last a week.

"I know, Crutch..." Jack responded, gravely. He pulled away from the panicked boy a bit, wiping away his tears before more took their place. He squatted down in front of the child who just wanted to lean back into him and cry. Jack didn't blame him. "Hey..." Jack whispered, trying to get the kid to listen to him as he held him by the shoulders. The boy just kept trying to breathe. He looked to be tired out. Jack wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't pass out. "Racer..." Jack tried again. His friend wasn't looking at him. In fact, he tried to turn away, but the chains made it hard and Jack held him still. "Cmon, kid, look at me..."

Race let out another shaky breath and let his eyes find Jack's calming ones. "I can't... _do_ this, Jack..." he breathed, allowing Jack to reach up and wipe away his tears again. He leaned into the touch, only wanting to fall asleep in his big brother's arms. He knew he couldn't.

"Yes ya can, Race. Cmon, we gotta get ta work. I'll help ya," Jack spoke softly, not about to let this boy go to work alone in the chains he was in, but Race shook his head.

"No, Jack... th-they don't want ya 'round me..." He sniffled, trying to reach up and wipe at his face. The cuffs made it hard. So Jack grabbed his wrists and held him still, gently. "I-it's beneath you."

Crutchie shook his head and took a seat next to his friend, knowing Jack didn't know what to say. He wrapped an arm around Race. "Race, do ya know who you're talkin' to?" When the older boy didn't answer him, Crutchie smiled. "It's Jack. Ya know? Jack Kelly?" he asked with a grin on his face as he elbowed his friend slightly, trying to get a smile or _something_ from the boy who'd just lost his everything. "He don't care if it's beneath him, he loves us and he won't let ya go out alone. Best ta not fight with him."

Race sniffled and leaned into his friend, his wrists still in Jack's hands. "It hurts..."

Jack's heart shattered at that tiny croak that Race let out. Hell yeah it hurt. His boys... they were gone. Henry, Mush, Sniper, Buttons... all of them. They were just gone. And Romeo... that poor kid lived for his big brother. And now they couldn't see each other. It wasn't likely they'd be together ever again and, damn it, it hurt! "I know, Racer... it's gonna hurt. But right now, we gotta go," the older boy sighed.

It took Race a long time to nod his head and let Jack pull him up. And Crutchie watched them go, hating the clanking sound of the metal that bound his friend. They would get past this.

They had to.


	5. Chapter 5

The world was a blur, a beautiful, green and blue wonderful blur. The wind rushed through her hair, freeing her as she escaped from her golden prison. The forest was perfect at dawn. The world was shiny and brand new and wonderful. "C'mon, Lucy! You can do it!"

She'd been riding for hours. Her guard would not be happy. She promised to be back by breakfast.

That was a promise she was about to break.

The Royal guards would be out to fetch her soon. Her father always had them chase after her when she disappeared. They'd recognize her horse immediately. Lucy was the purest, whitest horse in the entire kingdom. She was easily spotted. She hadn't been planning on extending her trip, which is why she's taken Lucy instead of Hot Shot.

Or possibly because Luca had somehow tricked her. But that was beside the point.

She needed another horse. And fast.

"What am I doing?" she muttered to herself. She tried to convince herself she wouldn't run away forever. Just... for a little bit. She'd come back. Just not now. Not for a few days. Because once she went back, her days of being free and wild were over.

There's more than one kind of prison.

Eventually, the forest broke. "Whoa!" she cried at the loss of her camouflage. No one could spot her so easily within the trees. So she froze at the end of it, her steed coming to a halt at the sudden change in scenery. There was a golden haze out on the meadow in front of them. Katherine smiled as the morning wind sauntered through the tall grass and laughed as it hit her face. There was no feeling that compared to that of the freedom the world gave her as she rode off towards the sunrise.

She'd stumbled upon a grand house, it looked like. A farm. She'd followed Luca's stream for a while. She had no idea it would lead her here.

If she moved quickly, she might succeed in her awful task before anyone in the household woke up. "C'mon, Lucy..."

She felt guilty, really. Her first instinct was to leave her own horse and take one of theirs instead, but she knew that if she left such a unique horse with them, they may be charged or hung for stealing the princess's prized possession. But she couldn't very well run off with such a noticeable steed.

Breaking into a stable was not a hard task. For Katherine, the hard task was sliding off of her horse in a pair of Luca's old riding pants and pressing her forehead up against Lucy's long face. Lucy had been with her for a long time. "I love you, girl..." she whispered to the creature as Lucy neighed and stomped her hooves in excitement. "That's right, Luce... you're free... go on!" And Katherine barely pulled her saddle from the innocent animal before the girl was off glowing in the morning sunlight.

Now all she had to do was steal a horse. How hard could it be?

The horses shook their heads as she toed her way through the small place, trying not to frighten them further. But the sun was rising even faster now. She didn't have time to be choosy. She dragged her saddle towards the horse closest to her. A brown spotted steed that would do for now. And as quickly and quietly as she could've, she saddled the poor beast and jumped onto it. "I'm so sorry..." she whispered into the air, maybe to the horse, maybe to the owner, maybe to a group of boys she'd never met before who might pay dearly for what she was about to do.

"Let's go!"

And the horse burst to life and ran without anymore prompting.

Jack knew he shouldn't be up so early. The boys were still asleep and if Snyder somehow found out that he'd gone out to start some of their chores, he have a fit. Jack wasn't ready for the whip. He never was. Snyder always told him it was for his own good, it was to teach him how to act like a noble or a superior. But the boy couldn't believe that. Nobles didn't get whipped. Jack would always just be another servant in his own home.

None of that mattered too much to the boy. If it was him screaming instead of Crutchie or JoJo or Race, he'd do it a thousand times over again. It had been a few days now since their world had changed so drastically. Jack was sure Race still had yet to sleep. Crutchie's leg was getting worse everyday and the others were still trying to make everything feel normal again.

Jack knew better. Normal didn't exist.

Picking up apples wasn't the worst thing he could be doing. He wanted to do it first and stash some down in the basement before Snyder woke up and found out he was feeding " _the rats_ " as he liked to call them. Some of them hadn't eaten in days and those that had had hardly been able to keep it down. He wasn't going to let them starve.

Though, he only had a few in a small basket when he heard it. The sound of a horse galloping through the fields. The sound of _his_ horse galloping through the fields. Or, more specifically, _Snyder's_ horse. Jack barely had time to think about what to do. If that thief got away with that horse, he didn't know what would happen. Someone was bound to get seriously hurt. Jack didn't think he could handle it. So he did the first thing he could think of at the thought of the whip. He grabbed one of the apples out of his basket and he aimed before letting the thing fly from his hand, full force. "Hey!" he called as the fruit hit its mark. He threw again, trying to knock the hooded figure from their position on the horse. "Get back here!" With one final third swing, the perpetrator was knocked off balance.

Jack rushed forward, dropping his basket to the ground and watching the thief try to struggle into a sitting position. He pinned them to the ground before they got the chance. The horse, trained well, waited close by, not sure whether to keep running or turn back. "Ya ain't gettin' away with our horse-" he froze as he flipped the thief onto their back, shocked at the woman below him.

She was fair, unlike any thief he'd ever seen. Her hair looked soft and perfect and her eyes looked deep into his soul. She was beautiful. "I won't have you arrested if you just let me go!" she demanded quickly, noting the shock on his face. But it quickly turned to confusion and anger as he shook his head.

"Listen sweetheart, maybe ya don't know how this works. You's the one who stole _my_ horse!"

Katherine's heart sped up with excitement before fear bubbled up in her chest. "You don't know who I am..." she muttered, trying to figure out if he even had the slightest clue what he was doing.

With a scoff, he shrugged in disbelief. This girl was impossible. "Should I?"

"No!" she answered immediately, reaching above her head for some kind of weapon. "That is... I'm no one..." she corrected at his curious gaze. She smiled at him, an apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry about this..." The stone in her hand would leave a scar on his chin for sure.

Jack cried out when she hit him, getting pushed off of her a bit too easily. "Hey!"

Katherine shot up, swinging her legs over the horse and galloping around the boy for a second while he was still taken back by the strike. "Here!" she called, tossing a bag of coins at him. "I hope one day I can return it to you..."

Jack caught the small bag with ease, standing up in attempts to chase after the steed. "Please! You don't know what you're doing!" But the girl didn't turn. She didn't say anything else. She was gone, leaving Jack with a few meaningless coins that would do nothing to stop the whip from striking his back or anyone else's, for that matter.

The boy tried to take a deep breath. He ran frustrated hands through his hair. Nothing good could happen now. "Dammit..."

Crutchie wanted to get up. Truly, he did. He held his breath so tightly, just like he'd been doing the past few morning. It would be harder to hide the pain now. There were more boys surrounding him. They weren't supposed to know how much pain he was in or how hard it was to do his chores. Jack would tell him he'd do the work.

They had enough on their plate right now.

Crutchie knew that Race was laying awake. He was sure the older boy's face was soaked, though the tears must've run dry hours ago. He knew Albert had chosen to lie on the opposite side of the room because the mere sight of him reminded the Italian of being chained down. He knew that Jack hadn't slept either. He knew a lot of things.

The boy let out a breath as slowly as he could, keeping his whimper quiet as he gripped onto his own shirt. His leg throbbed and screamed and Crutchie couldn't do a thing to relieve the pain. They'd be down soon and if he couldn't get up, he'd be useless. No one wanted a useless slave. They could kill him for having a bum leg. It wasn't fair, but it was the world.

He'd push through, he had to. It would be okay.

"Time to get up..." someone mumbled.

Or maybe not.

Jack paced back and forth in the stables, fingering the cold coins in his hands. If nothing else, those were to be kept out of sight from his stepfamily. If they found those coins they'd take them in a heartbeat. Jack could use the coins. He'd need them one day, when he was out of this hell. He could use them to buy his friends' freedom. His first thought had been to buy the others back, but he knew Snyder would just sell them all over again. Jack couldn't do that to them. All he could do was pray that they were okay.

The horse was a different matter entirely. No one could find out about it. Snyder barely rode the thing anyhow. It was more a matter of pride than anything. A kind of pride that the man didn't deserve to have.

Some of the horses around him tapped around in their stalls. Jack sighed and shook his head, his eye catching one horse in particular who looked at him as if she was trying to reassure him. It was his mother's horse. _His_ horse. She nodded at him and quietly nickered at him as if trying to speak. "Shshshsh Fe..." he gushed, rushing over to the steed and stroking her long face lovingly. "I don't know what ta do, girl..." he whispered to her, the only thing he had left of his childhood; his golden, wonderful, flawless childhood.

His mother used to take him out riding when he was little. They'd both climb on Santa Fe and ride off into the forest for hours, feeling more free than they'd ever felt. When he rode her now, he swore he heard his mother's sweet voice, telling him it would all be alright, promising he could do this. He swore he could hear her singing to him again, just like she had all those years ago.

But his mother was gone now. He was alone. And he would have to figure this out.

"One day, Fe, we're gonna ride far away from this place, huh?" She could hear him. He knew she could. "We'll get the boys out n' we'll go far away. I promise..."

It was a promise he intended to keep.

It had been three days. Three days and Race still felt like he couldn't breathe. Three days and every time he looked around for his baby brother, reality hit him harder. The chains had been left on for too long. By the second night, Race almost couldn't feel his hands, but they'd decided he could go out without them. It was a mistake that they'd soon discover.

Race grunted as he was shoved to the ground. He must've been slowing down again. "We said ya had ta be done by noon!" Race wanted to feel okay. He tried to think at least their focus was on him instead of the boy who'd been gasping and whimpering all night. Crutchie was working inside. At least they weren't hurting him.

"Sorry, master..." Race muttered, not daring to look up at whichever one of the brothers was looming over him this time. He was supposed to be done collecting crops by now. He wasn't. If anything, he was close, but close wasn't enough.

His apology was not accepted, he realized, as a kick to the gut completely knocked the air from his lungs. "Do you want us to put the chains back on?!"

Race did not respond. He couldn't. He was too busy trying to catch his breath again. He hated it. He hated that this was his whole life because he'd been born to parents who didn't care whether he lived or died. He hated that he had no say and no control. He hated that the only relief he had in that moment was Jack rushing up to the boy still towering over him, pulling him away and shielding Race from any bad that would come.

One day Jack wouldn't be there. And Race didn't want to know what was bound to happen then.

The slave didn't care to listen to how his savior got the Delancey to walk away. He was too busy catching his breath and giving his aching limbs some kind of a break. It wasn't until the evil kid was gone that Race looked up to see Jack's hand extended down to him. His immediate reaction was to shake his head and curl further in on himself in the grass.

"Kid... c'mon..." Jack pleaded, looking around in a hurry for any dangers around him. Race could be severely beat or whipped for doing what he was doing right now. And Jack couldn't do it. He couldn't handle it right now. "I know you don't wanna n' I know how scared you are for Romeo, but ya gotta get back up. You ain't gonna be no use ta that kid if you's hung, ya understand me?"

Race flinched. Tears welled up in his blue eyes. He knew Jack was right. That only made it so much harder to stand. He didn't know if he could do it. Romeo might be dead already. All of those boys might've already been disposed of. He couldn't bear the thought. Jack didn't know. Jack has no idea how scared Race was. This wasn't like what Jack had been through. Jack has been there when his parents died. Yeah, it was awful and it changed him, but at least he knew what became of them. Race might have to live the rest of his life not knowing. That was what scared him the most.

Eventually, Race took the hand and let Jack pull him to his feet. "I'm sorry..." he muttered, leaning into Jack for just a moment. Jack didn't mind.

"You don't got nothin' ta be sorry for, Racer... just don't go bein' stupid. I promise it'll get better..."

Only, Race didn't think it could get better. None of it. His whole life was broken, if what he had could even be considered life. The only thing he had left was ripped away from him. He didn't care what happened to himself now.

So that night, he'd do something stupid. And there wasn't a person that could stop him.

"I'm sorry..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, Race...
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, babes!


	6. Chapter 6

Jack could hardly breathe. The wind blew through his hair as he rode off into the woods, his eyes scanning every inch of the land that they possibly could.

Race had run.

The stupid kid thought he'd get away somehow. Jack had no idea what he was thinking. He could be hanged for this. He _would_ be hanged for this. That is, if Jack didn't find him first.

It was dark out. At least in his stupidity the boy had the decency to have some sense. Snyder would have a harder time finding him in the dark. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be found. The kid hadn't even bothered to put on his worn shoes, probably hoping the tracks would be harder to follow if he was barefoot.

He was right.

It was no secret that Race wanted away. Jack knew he couldn't even truly blame him. He was slave. It was wrong. People shouldn't own other people, but it was the way the world worked. For now. All Jack could do was try to keep them all alive. He'd failed to keep them all together. He couldn't lose anyone else.

"Racer!" he screamed, praying to any higher being that would listen to not let his stepfather find the boy before him. "Kid, please!" he cried. His throat was going raw.

He couldn't find it in himself to care.

The masters had begun to look for Race after dinner. Oscar had wanted the kid to do something for him. Jack wasn't sure what. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out. But Race did not come running as his name was called. Well, screamed more like it. And Jack had panicked. He'd run to the stables before Snyder could catch him. He got his horse. If he found Race first he could get him home, make it look like Race had been with him the whole time. He couldn't bear to lose that kid. Not after everything they'd been through. Not after everything they'd just lost.

The rest of the boys were stalling in anyway they could without getting themselves in trouble. They were trying to offer help, do their jobs. They were all scared to death.

So, when Jack caught sight of a small fire burning in the distance, he could've cried in relief. "Race!" he screamed, guiding his horse towards the thing.

Though it should have hit him sooner that the boy wasn't stupid. The fire could've led anyone right to him. It wasn't Race.

It was that girl.

She was simply sitting there, a sort of cape over her shoulders. She was trying to warm her hands by the flames and stood, only when she saw him coming. "You!" he cried out. Anger surged up in his chest again as he'd remembered his encounter with this girl before. An encounter that would surely cost him dearly.

Snyder still didn't know about the horse.

The young woman took a step back, immediately putting her hands up in front of her chest. She looked genuinely surprised and frightened for a moment, a look of uncertainty crossing over her gaze, as if she'd never been in any kind of danger before in her life. At least, not like this. Jack felt some kind of pang in his chest. He wanted so badly to scream at her. But another part of him told him it wasn't worth it. There were more important things to worry about.

"I am so sorry-" she began to apologize. Jack shook his head, still wildly glancing around, praying to catch a glimpse of golden curls.

"Have you seen a kid runnin' through here?" he demanded quickly, raising up a hand to stop her. When she squinted at him, he only became all the more frantic. "An idiot with blue eyes and blond hair and no shoes! Have you seen him?!" He couldn't do this. This beautiful stranger was confused. She wasn't responding fast enough. "You can keep the goddamn horse if you just tell me you's seen him!" He was practically begging at this point. Snyder's horse was the least of his concerns.

The young woman looked anxious. Almost frightened. "Why are you looking for him? What did he do?"

She asked too many questions. Jack's heart was going to explode. He could hear shouting in the distance. Snyder's shouting. He gasped, as he looked around, trying to decide which was it was coming from before all he could do was look back down at the girl in front of him. "Please... please, if they find him before I do, they'll..." he couldn't finish the sentence. He couldn't lose another one of his boys. Especially not for good. He prayed this woman understood, that she was on his side.

Her hands floated down to her sides as her eyes widened just a bit, not quite believing what she was hearing. "He's a slave isn't he?" she asked as it dawned on her. "And you care about him." That wasn't so much a question as much as it was an observation. The only answer she received was silence. The young man bowed his head down, knowing what he was doing could get him killed if the wrong person knew about it. Slaves weren't friends. Slaves were property.

That is the way the world worked.

To Jack's amazement, the stranger actually offered him a small smile. His heart stuttered a bit in his chest. This woman looked familiar. But he didn't have time to dwell on it, though part of him wished he could just keep staring into those dark brown eyes that seemed to be so full of adventure and longing. That was something he understood.

That was something his mother used to tell him about his own eyes.

She pointed over to her left. "I saw someone running down the stream. I tried to speak to him but it didn't seem like he wanted to talk," she explained quietly, stomping out her fire.

Jack nodded, genuinely grateful for the information. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" A burst of relief rushed through him for a moment. "I suggest gettin' lost before someone finds you. They won't be so kind about the horse." That was all he could say before he was off, rushing in the direction of the stream.

Katherine stood there frozen for a moment. Her heart felt just a bit lighter as she watched that boy rush to save a child who was simply an object in the eyes of the world as of now. Even as the princess she was supposed to obey a certain set of rules. Rules that she broke, time and time again.

Maybe she wasn't so alone after all.

With one more glance in the direction of that boy, she rushed over to the stolen horse beside her. It didn't seem at all distressed by some stranger riding it at all. If Katherine didn't know better, she would've said the poor creature was relieved. As she heard shouting in the distance she swung a leg over the beast and took a deep breath.

And then she was off all over again.

Jack let his horse rush down the side of the creek as he tried with great difficulty to scan every inch of the forest for a boy who didn't deserve a life like this. It seemed like days before the creek led Jack right to him. "Race..." he mumbled in relief as he slipped off of his horse and rushed to him, the reigns still in his hand.

The boy was on his knees, breathing hard as he held himself and sobbed, his tears sliding down his cheeks and dropping into the small stream. He was shivering in the cold as he tried desperately to catch his breath. Jack had no words. There was truly nothing he could say to make this better, to make Race feel better, to even calm the boy down. All he could do was kneel down beside the boy, making sure he held the horse's reigns tight in his hand, and wrap the kid up in an embrace that he couldn't shy away from.

The sobs came harder as Jack held him. And Jack couldn't quite find it in himself to shush them. "Don't take me back... I can't go back..." Race's words were breathless and forced. They were barely heard over the wind.

All Jack would do was hold the boy tighter, pinning Race's back against his chest and rocking the kid back and forth, desperately trying to get him to breathe. "Romeo is still out there..." he promised, praying he was right. "Come back. Come with me... _please._ Come. Back." Jack was begging it was all he could do.

It was wrong. All of it. Jack wished he could go back and change things. He wished he could go back and find the man who'd said it was a good idea to own slaves and cut him down right then and there. Even if he'd never met all these kids, it would be okay. Because they'd be free. But that wasn't how it was. Right now, it was life or death for this young boy sobbing against his chest. It was clear the kid didn't care.

Jack did. He cared too much.

"I..." Race hesitated. He'd known he wouldn't make it very far. He was already exhausted. He was so hungry his entire body seemed to want to shut down on him. "'m scared... he ain't neva' been on his own n'... n' he's just a little kid..."

It was difficult for Jack to want to let go. If he had it his way, he'd never let go of any of these kids. If he had it his way, he could wrap an arm around them whenever he wanted without someone telling him it was wrong, without someone telling him that he couldn't be friends with property. "I'll get him back. I promise. But ya gotta stick around ta see him, understand?"

With a shaky nod, Race gave in. He melted beneath the tight embrace, not fully believing he'd live to see the next morning, much less his little brother. "B't they're gonna kill me..." he muttered, his voice broken and terrified.

"Not if you get on that horse right now, they won't. I won't let them. I can't stop them from doin' somethin', but I won't let them kill ya," Jack swore urgently. They were bound to find him at some point. "Please Race... please come back with me," he begged again.

Race wasn't sure he wanted to. He didn't know if it was worth it. He didn't know if he was worth it. He didn't understand. He couldn't understand why Jack wanted him to live so badly. If he was hanged, they could just buy another one. There were plenty more just like him out there.

But the thought, the slim hope he had of seeing his baby brother again was enough to get him to give in. "Okay..." he whispered with the wind. "Okay..." His voice wasn't working like he wanted it to. He wished he could be strong. He wished he could be fierce and angry and he wished he could've stopped those men in the first place. But he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough.

Jack helped him stand. It was a terrible thing that Race could barely even do. Stand, that is. His legs wobbled and his body swayed. He feared he would have collapsed if the only safety he had in the whole world hadn't been there to support him. And suddenly, the kid was face to face with a beautiful creature he'd never been so close to before. And he froze.

A smile spread gently across Jack's face. A sort of calm washed over him. It was like time froze for a moment. Race loved the horses. He loved to watch them. But he'd never actually ridden one. "Racer, this is Santa Fe..." The boy didn't move. He just stood there completely mesmerized by the animal. Jack looked around quick, making sure they hadn't been found yet. They had a few seconds. It was okay. "Fe, this is Racer..." he introduced. The boy lifted up a shaky hand. His awe brought some kind of a lightness to Jack's chest that he could quite explain. But before his palm made gentle contact with the horse's snout, he hesitated, pulling back only for Jack's hand to fall calmly on top of his own and help him push forward.

Something bubbled up in Race's chest when Santa Fe bowed his head and surrendered to his touch. With Jack's fingers over his own he was able to stroke the creature's face and a genuine peace fell over him for a single moment. For a single moment, the rest of the world went away and everything was silent.

And Race could breathe.

Until they could hear the shouting again. Until Race could feel Jack's heart beating faster. "Get on the horse," he ordered, his voice hardly a whisper. And Race did as he was told. He pulled himself up like he'd seen so many others do before him. Jack helped steady him before jumping on behind him. Then they were moving fast, faster than the boy had ever moved before.

And all Race could do was sigh and melt into Jack's chest, allowing his savior to take him back to the only place he would be safe.

Hell.

"I took you out for a ride," Jack said as they approached the large mansion that had once been a golden refuge against the rest of the world. Race could see some of the boys rushing to them already. He wasn't ready to face them. He wished it was acceptable to just curl up against Jack and sleep for days. But that wasn't reality. It was just a dream. "You said you shouldn't but I insisted, okay? That's what you tell the masters if they ask you," he instructed. Race mutely nodded, taking in the moment before it was gone forever. He'd never get to be up this high again. He'd never get to feel the wind blowing freely through his hair like that. This was it. It was all he had.

But then Specs ran up to them. And Albert too. Crutchie was standing just inside, but even the distance couldn't hide the tears in his eyes. And Race was helped down. "Get him inside," Jack pleaded. "Clean him up a little..."

"Oscar n' Snyder 'r still inside, Jack," Specs informed gravely. Jack cursed silently but nodded anyway. That meant that Morris had been looking, probably a few friends with him. What friends, that was a mystery to Jack. He didn't care to think about it.

"Okay," he sighed. "Al, go get JoJo. Tell him to take Fe back down to the stables. I's goin' in with Race," he said. Albert took the reigns as Jack hopped down, making his way over to Crutchie with the other boy just behind him, terrified to be out of his reach.

They were only a few steps down the stairs to the basement when a gruff sound was heard behind them. Jack heard Race gasp and he looked back calmly to try and give him a little strength. Those big blue eyes were terrified.

"Where have you been, boy?"

As much as Jack wished Snyder had been addressing him, he knew he wasn't. Race took a breath sharply through his nose and, with shaking limbs and aching feet, slowly turned, his head bowed as he knelt down on the stairs. "I's sorry, M-Masta' Snyder... I-I w-was with Master Jack..." he described vaguely.

Crutchie watched the scene in horror. They all knew exactly where Race had been. Snyder did too. But he couldn't prove it. And that only fueled his fury. "I'm sorry, Mr. Snyder. I took him out for a ride. I needed ta clear my head n' so did he. I thought it would be good for him..." Jack tried. It didn't matter. Snyder was still full of rage. And Jack could see the smugness in his stepbrother's eyes. He wished he could hit the other boy.

"Jack, I didn't give you permission to take my property out for a joyride." To everyone's surprise, Snyder sounded somewhat calm. Like he was trying to teach a small child a lesson in stealing. It was sickening. "He belongs to me. But, as you claim he didn't try to run away like we thought he did, I suppose we can spare him," he sighed. Jack almost collapsed in relief. He could see Race sag a little. It was clear the boy was holding his breath. He was scared. "That doesn't mean this is over. Both of you need to go down to the cellar. Oscar, take them will you?"

Jack's heart dropped. He knew he couldn't avoid it all, but he'd prayed it didn't have to come to this. Crutchie seemed to know what was to happen as well and he gave Jack a worried look. But there wasn't a thing he could do.

Race didn't argue as Oscar forced him up by the hair. He just took a sharp breath and went where he was prompted. Jack was right behind them, with one more heartbroken look towards the fourteen year old standing helpless in the hall.

The cellar was an open space under the other side of the house. It looked like a sort of prison. Though it was built with the beautiful home, it had been boarded off before the devil decided to inhabit their golden palace. Jack had been down here plenty of times before. But Race had yet to have the same pleasure.

Before Jack could argue, Oscar had roughly led Race over to the left side of the room where two wooden posts were rigged with chains. The boy was forced to his knees between them. Jack almost wished his friend would cry out. The kid was trying to detach himself from the situation.

It would only make it worse.

The shackles were locked around the child's wrists, forcing his arms apart over his head. His shirt was ripped open easily and Jack winced. The scars across his back were worse than Jack's own. And that was saying something. But before Jack could watch anymore, his arm was roughly grabbed and he was shoved against the opposite wall by the old man who had been right behind them the whole time.

Race squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could. He tried to breathe. He could still feel the horse running beneath him. It was a good feeling. He wished to be back there. He wished to be anywhere but here where he could hear the only person in the world that cared about him grunting and gasping as quietly as he could with every hit that could be heard. He wished he could make himself vanish. He wished he could turn back time. But he couldn't. He was trapped. And so was Jack.

It was several minutes before Jack was just a heap on the ground, breathing hard as his stepfather just stared at him, looking only disappointed. If the boy were being honest, it hadn't been too bad. He'd had plenty worse. But it was still hard to move after. And Jack was forced to catch his breath while he watched his stepbrother grab the whip. With one glance over at the old man who simply nodded, the Delancey brought the thing down hard on Race's back.

And the kid didn't scream.

Again it happened. And again. And again. Jack counted five times. Race only arched his back and tensed his whole body. It wouldn't be enough. Silently, the seventeen year old prayed the kid would make a sound, do something, do anything to let the masters know that they held the power. It would be over quicker that way. But the boy was being defiant in the only way he knew how.

Silence.

Oscar seemed to be getting annoyed as he brought the whip down again, hearing it crack. Race tensed again, biting down hard on his tongue. He tasted blood. He still did not scream.

 _Scream_ , _you_ _idiot_ , Jack begged silently. He tried to get himself off the floor, but his ribs cried out, warning him again it. He grunted as he hit the concrete again. He heard another crack.

And then Snyder spoke. "Okay, Oscar. That's enough," he said. Jack almost thanked God. Maybe Snyder actually had some human in him after all. Maybe he did just do this to keep up a certain persona. Maybe he did it because he thought it was right. Maybe he wasn't just cruel.

All of that hope was crushed immediately when Snyder took the whip out of Oscar's hands and made his way over to him, extending out the weapon to him. Jack froze, just for a moment until his stepfather advanced on him. The boy slowly pushed himself further into the wall behind him and shook his head. "No..." he muttered quietly, knowing exactly what Snyder was about to have him do. "None of this was his fault. It was mine. You can hurt me. He's innocent," Jack stated again. As cruel as he knew his stepfather could be, he'd never forced him to do anything like this.

"It's your turn, Jack. Twenty lashes. Now," he ordered sternly. But Jack still shook his head, trying desperately to blink the tears out of his eyes. "Prove to him that you are above him. It's time to grow up."

The first thing that Jack heard from the boy across the room was a small whimper. Because he knew what was coming, even though he couldn't turn to see it all unfold. "Please... he's a good kid. He doesn't deserve this. It was my fault he was out. Whip me. Please." He sounded pathetic. He knew it, too. But none of this was supposed to be happening.

"Do as I say, Kelly. Twenty."

"He's already had seven!" Jack tried to argue, knowing that he, himself could only handle about fifteen or twenty at a time. This kid was younger and smaller and even more malnourished than he was.

But with a nod over at his son, Snyder set in place the alternative. Jack watched with wide eyes as Oscar glared at him, grabbing a knife from his belt and walking over to the slave who was quietly panting on the other side of the room. And he raised the sharp weapon above the boy's head. "No! Stop!" Jack cried immediately, standing to his feet. Snyder blocked his way. But the other boy didn't plunge the thing down. He froze, waiting for instructions.

"If you cannot behave like a master instead of a servant, I will be forced to show what I should be doing instead," the old man threatened. Jack knew what he was really saying. _I know that boy ran away and you tried to cover for him. I know he should be scheduled for a hanging_. Jack swallowed hard. He really didn't want to do this.

He took the weapon in his hands and nodded. Sometimes the only way out was through. He silently walked passed his caretaker and scowled at his stepbrother, though the tears held carefully in his forest green eyes shone from across the room. When he looked back down at his young friend, he could see the way Race tensed even more, trying to turn to him. To beg him to just stop. The boy didn't want to be hurt. But Jack had no choice. He raised the hellish weapon above his head slowly, his arm shaking violently as he took a sharp breath through his nose to steady himself.

The whip came down with most sickening crack Jack swore he'd ever heard. Race arched his back and grunted but did nothing more. Jack didn't want to imagine the tears that he knew were streaming down his friend's face.

"Again, Jack," Snyder ordered. Jack flinched. He did not want to keep doing this. But as Oscar still held that knife above his friend, he knew he had no choice.

The weapon cracked again. Jack gasped. His hands were shaking. The noise was loud and menacing and horrible. He bit his tongue as he was forced to continue to torture one of his closest friends. Someone he thought of as a brother. They all were. They were his little brothers. He was supposed to protect them. And this is what was coming of it.

It was only two more lashes before Race couldn't keep it in anymore.

 _Crack_.

The child screamed.

The cries grew with every hit after that. Jack's heart tore a little more with every sob. The boy yanked on the chains above him, begging for some kind of relief. "Please! Please stop!" he tried, knowing it would do no good. He could hear Jack's heartbroken pants behind him. "Per favore! Fa male! Mi dispiace!"

Jack froze at that. Oscar seemed to be furious. "Oscar, he's in pain," Jack forced out, though his voice shook. "He can't help it! He's j'st askin' me ta stop! Please! This ain't his fault!"

At some point, Jack had turned back to Snyder. Race had had a total of twenty two lashes at that point. His back was bleeding too much. It made Jack feel nauseous. But, eventually, Snyder just extended his hand out for the whip. And Jack gladly handed it to him.

The chains were unlocked and Race immediately fell to the ground. He made no attempt to stop it. Jack rushed to him before anyone could stop him. He felt his stepfather's glare. He didn't look up. He just fell to his knees beside his friend and was at a complete loss for what to do next. "Racer..." he tried to apologized, breathless when he realized how badly the kid was trembling. He tried to rest a hand in the boy's hair. His friend flinched violently beneath his touch. Jack pulled back quick, horror filling up his chest.

"He gets the cell for the night. I'm trying to teach you a lesson, Jack. He is not your friend." Snyder was as cruel as they came. Jack knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to turn these kids against him. He was trying to make Race hate him.

It might have worked.

His stepbrother shoved him out of the way, grabbing Race by his bruised wrists and pulling him into the small cell at the back of the large room. The boy tried to get up and walk or do something. He couldn't. He was too weak.

Jack went to follow them, to try and help his friend in any way he could.

But Snyder grabbed him by the hair as Oscar threw the kid down into that small cell. Jack let out a small cry as he was forcefully pulled back. "Please..." he whimpered out. "Please let me clean him up... he's-"

"Upstairs, Jack... now."

Jack sniffled as he heard the heavy door clang shut. He could hear Race breathing hard and fast, trying like mad to find some way to relieve the pain. Jack knew he couldn't do anything.

He knew how badly it would all hurt. "He's still just a kid..." he tried, his voice shaking.

But Snyder just shook his head and grabbed Jack by the wrist, pulling him forcefully out of the room and letting Oscar follow close behind, shutting the door to that godawful room, trapping that poor boy inside completely. Alone, hurting, and utterly helpless.

"I expect you in your own bed tomorrow morning, Jack. Do you understand?"

Ripping his wrist from the grasp, Jack defiantly turned away from the man, flinching when the man raised his hand. The slap stung. But Jack didn't cry out. He just stayed put, letting angry tears fall down his cheeks.

But Snyder didn't press. He didn't drag Jack up the stairs. Jack suspected it was more a question of whether he could or not. After all, Jack wasn't a little kid anymore. He was almost a man.

His stepfather and his stepbrother glared at him before making their way up the stairs. And Jack still didn't move.

The second they were gone, he couldn't hold it back anymore. The cries began quietly as Jack tried to figure out what he could do. He quickly found that his thoughts were just a mess of hurt and anger and hopelessness.

His back hit the door. And he slid down to the ground as his cries grew. Grasping at his hair, he tried to take in a proper breath. He'd never felt this kind of pain before. He'd never once betrayed any of those kids.

Not until tonight.

He didn't know what to do, how to fix this. How that kid would ever look at him the same way again.

"Jack?"

That voice only made Jack want to cry harder. So he did. He curled in on himself and sniffled, letting out a few extra sobs.

"Jack." The voice was urgent. Terrified. Jack knew he was scaring the other boy. But he couldn't help it.

Only shaking his head, Jack looked up, his blurry vision hardly able to make out the form of Crutchie standing over him, a bowl of clean water and a cloth held in his arm. Jack let out another sob as he released his death grip on his hair and slowly moved from the door. "I'm sorry... 'm so sorry..." He didn't know what else he could possibly say. He couldn't look at the younger boy.

He'd done this.

"Jack... Whateva' happened wasn't your fault..."

Jack shook his head again, trying to breathe. "Just help him... please just help him..." He steadying himself back at the wall beside the door in the short hallway just beyond it.

Crutchie bit his lip. But he carefully opened up the door and stepped inside. He paid no mind to weather the door creaked closed behind him as he made his way to the small cell.

It didn't.

Placing his foot in its way, Jack watched for a moment, hearing pained gasps and whimpers. He could see the small form of his whipped friend, hands gripping at the bars, praying for someone to come and relieve the pain. He could see the blood on the boy's back, some of which had made it into his damp blond curls.

Keys rattled as Crutchie opened the cage. And Jack didn't move. He could only bite his lip as tears streamed freely down his face.

"A... a-acqua?"

"Sh...shhhhhh..." Crutchie hushed. "You can have a sip... it's ok... but I have to clean you up," he explained, helping the boy turn to his side enough to be able to talk a gulp of water from the wooden bowl.

"G-Grazie..."

And just like that, Race rolled back onto his stomach and Crutchie began to tentatively dab at his bruised, swollen, bleeding back. The hisses and whined broke Jack's heart even more. It was only a few more small moments before Race let out a sob and flinched too hard.

Crutchie grabbed the water bowl just in time to keep it from falling. "Hey... hey, relax, okay? I know it hurts but it'll be a lot worse if it gets infected," he warned the slightly older boy. Race didn't respond. He just grasped at his hair with one hand and let himself cry. "I'm so sorry, Race... ya don't deserve this..."

Jack winced as his hurt friend hissed. He didn't move. But he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces when those blue eyes wearily opened up and found him. The older boy tried to breathe. Race had a certain look in his eyes. Like he truly didn't know what to say.

But just as the kid opened his mouth to try and speak, Jack shook his head. "I'm so sorry..." he whispered. Then he stood and ran up the stairs, letting the door quietly click shut.

This was his doing. He should've done better, been faster. He should have stopped it somehow.

Vigorously, the boy wiped at his face, trying so hard to push away the image of the horrible thing he'd just done. Of his friend begging him to just stop hurting him.

He couldn't understand it. He never would.

And he'd never forgive himself either. Not for this.

The world was a cruel place. There was no fixing it. Snyder was trying to prove that to him. This is the way it was and would always be. Slaves were slaves and masters were masters and that was that.

Jack couldn't change it.

At least, not alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes...
> 
> I’m so sorry...


	7. Chapter 7

"Just to be clear…"

_Oh, here we go._

"You stole a horse…"

"Borrowed—"

" _Stole_. Just cause you're the princess don't mean it ain't stealin'."

Katherine glared at her guard as she pet the nose of the horse of a boy who hadn't the slightest clue who she was. "He's a good horse. I don't think he's too fond of his owner," she chuckled.

Rolling his eyes, Luca sighed. "Ya gotta give him back, Katherine. Someone always gets blamed for these things…" he stated, his voice low and solemn. He didn't truly want to think about what that entailed, though his imagination still went wild as he made his way into the stable where Katherine had only just arrived. "Where did you get him?"

For the first time, Katherine paused, truly thinking about the consequences of her actions that she would more than likely not be subject to suffer. Her mind drifted back to that boy. The one who'd knocked her off the beast with only an apple. Her heart dropped. "I… I got him from a farm… near the creek you told me about."

Luca froze for a split second. Katherine barely noticed. Her guard closed his eyes and sighed, almost reminding himself to stay calm, before he continued on with what he was doing. "I'll have some servants take him back. They have ta go ta that farm on their route anyways…" he sighed.

Nodding a bit, Katherine agreed. "I'm sorry, Luca… I didn't mean to be gone for so long—"

"Katherine!"

The young woman jumped slightly at the harsh tone that was directed solely at her. She looked up to Luca who gave her a warning look, silently telling her not to run away again as footsteps made their way towards them. Katherine forced a smile on her face, very clearly not looking forward to what would follow. And she made her way out into the walkway where her father stood, two guards by his side. "Yes, father?"

The man did not look amused at his daughter's show. He glared. "Do you honestly think these antics are going to help your case?" he spat, gesturing to the horse that Luca was still tending to. Katherine's smile fell. She felt her heart drop as she looked back over to the steed. "Running away from all your responsibilities?! Taking another man's horse?! What do you hope to accomplish from this—"

"Father, please!" she interrupted, unable to keep her emotions at bay any longer. Her father paused, slightly shocked by her outburst as she took in a breath and stood her ground. "I… I needed a small moment to think—"

"And a small moment turned into two days! You have obligations, a duty to your people—"

Still the young woman did not yield. Instead she stepped closer to her father and looked up at him with determination shining clearly in her light brown eyes. "Father, I understand," she stated simply, placing her hands on her hips. Her father seemed to look her up and down for the first time since he'd entered. His eyes widened at the sight of her in the riding pants she wore. But he spoke nothing of it. "I understand that you want me to marry. I understand I still need to make a decision. I understand I have duties here."

Watching the scene vaguely but listening intently, Luca did his best to hide his shock at the poise and confidence of this young woman he'd known for so long. This young woman who'd saved his life. This young woman who he'd vowed to protect so long ago. He knew this woman. He knew the passion that coursed through her blood and he knew that she had more wit and strength in her left pinky than most men did in their entire being. He knew how difficult she found it to have to be calm and collected when it came to people, no matter who they may be, making decisions about her future and her life.

Katherine Pulitzer was many things. A surrenderer was not one of them.

The king looked skeptical, as well he should, as he nodded. "You say you understand, yet you do the exact opposite of what you should be doing," he said. "You go gallivanting around the kingdom, no one knows where you've gone this time—"

"That's just what I was going to say. It was rather stupid of me to want to explore the kingdom alone." Luca glanced over. There was that smirk. "So this afternoon, I would like to accompany the servants to gather crops from some of the farms. They are going anyway after all, right?"

"Katherine, please—"

"I imagine my arguments that I can run my own kingdom really hold no ground, being that I hardly know the people of my kingdom and my own land," she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "And even if I do marry—"

" _When_ ," her father tried to correct.

Katherine was having none of it. " _If_ I marry William or Darcy, I should very well know my people and my kingdom." Luca smiled to himself, taking the saddle off of the poor horse in front of him. There was the Katherine he knew. "Besides… I have a horse to return…" she added, her confidence only wavering a bit as she remembered the crime she'd recently committed.

Her father glared at her for a long moment. She stood tall, her smirk turning into a smile as she knew this man. She knew that her father was king. But she also knew that he loved her and had a difficult time saying no to her when she stood her ground like she was.

Eventually, he sighed. "You will stay with the servants at all times. Three guards will accompany you—"

"Luca—" she tried to say, assuming her personal guard would be one of the three.

Her father cut her off. "No, not Luca. Lord knows he probably had something to do with you running off in the first place. He'll be staying here and training with the lot of the palace guards."

Luca tried to hide his disappointment when Katherine looked his way. He offered her a strained smile without even truly looking at her.

"You will stay with the guards and the servants the whole time and you will be back by supper. Do we have an understanding?"

Sighing, Katherine nodded. "Very well, father. Thank you."

She tried to turn and walk back to Luca. But her father gently grasped her by the arm. "Dearest… do change your clothes before you go. You look like a commoner." He didn't sound disappointed or even irritated.

The young woman shrugged. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I can manage that much," she decided, allowing her father to chuckle and give her a quick peck on the cheek before he turned and made his way back out of the stable.

She watched him as he went in silence. The rest of the guards went on with him just the same. And then it was just her and who may be the only true friend she had in the world. She turned, offering him a sad smile as she walked back towards him, sensing his frustration from a mile away. "I'm sorry he won't let you come along, Luke…"

"Don't worry about it, Princess. It ain't the end of the world," he forced out, finishing up with desaddling the steed. "An' he's right. I'm the one who let ya go out there alone," he confirmed, stepping out of the horse's cage for a moment and gently closing the door, leaning against it.

But Katherine shook her head. "Only because I made you…"

"Still… I am supposed ta protect you, sorella…" the boy insisted, nodding towards her. "But hey… ya get ta go out again. Be happy," he laughed, still exceedingly proud of the woman in front of him.

It was exciting to her, in a way. She was kidding herself, however, if she allowed herself to think that this small step forward would make way to her getting what she wanted. Independence. Equality.

Freedom.

A part of her had always known she'd never had freedom. Freedom was a dream that only some people allowed themselves to believe that they'd found, when in all reality, they still work for someone. She would never be able to stand alone, without a man by her side. Not if her father or so many people in the kingdom had anything to say about it.

Sometimes she believed them. Maybe they were right. Maybe she wasn't strong enough to lead on her own.

Maybe she wasn't as smart as she thought.

"Luca… what would happen if a commoner had stolen this horse?" she asked suddenly, guilt rising up in her chest as her mind once again drifted back to that moment.

_"Please! You don't know what you're doing!"_

The young Italian squinted, confused by the simple question. "What're ya talkin' about?"

"I'm talking about stealing a horse. What could they have done to me if I weren't the princess?" It was just a question. In all honesty, Katherine could hardly understand why she'd asked in the first place. All she kept picturing were terrified green eyes that had begged her not to do what she'd done.

A bit taken back by the question, Luca shrugged. "Depends. Depends on the owner. Depends on the thief. But, if they decide to go along with the traditional punishment, the owner can have the thief's hand… um… cut off…" he responded, scratching at the back of his neck as her eyes widened in horror. "Look, Kath… you really don't wanna hear about that kinda thing. It ain't—"

"Stop trying to protect me from reality, Luca. I shouldn't have been so… stupid. That was so stupid… what if he hurts one of his servants because of me? Because of something stupid that _I_ decided I had to do…" she almost wanted to cry. She felt horrible.

With a small sigh, Luca stepped forward. "Princess, those farms run on slaves. They already…" he cut himself off, knowing that telling this girl what those people had to endure everyday was much more than she could ever imagine. "Never mind… look, you're gonna return the horse. It's only been one night, right? Maybe the owner don't even know it's missing…"

Katherine managed a nod and she ran a hand through her long ponytail. "Luca?"

"Yeah, Princess?"

"I need you to teach me how to fight."

"Okay… slow down… what?"

"Luca, my own father doesn't believe I can run this kingdom on my own. What do William and Darcy have that I don't?" the princess asked, almost as if she was quizzing the Italian. When he didn't respond, she continued. "They have more knowledge about the laws of our lands, they're trained swordsmen and they're men. Since I can't fix one of those things, I am going to fix the other two. And I need your help to do it."

A small, amused chuckle escaped the young man. But he shrugged. "Ah, what the hell? Your father hates me anyways…" he stated, offering her a small wink. "But…. not till you return that horse," he stated, as he began to walk away, back towards the castle.

Excitement bubbled up in Katherine as she skipped her way to the boy's side. He laughed as he escorted her back to the palace. "Luca, you're the best!"

"I know, sorella. Just don't go braggin' about it all ta his highness, alright? He'll fire me for sure," he stated.

Katherine looped her arm through her guards own and lifted up her hand, extending out her pinky. The boy smirked, but offered her his pinky in exchange. And they locked them together for a short moment, making a deal like they had so many times before. "You're gonna be the death of me, Kitty…"

"Yeah… but if you go down, I be goin' down with you…"

The young man smiled and reached over with his free hand to squeeze her wrist.

And together they walked back inside.

—

"Les, what the hell happened?"

The small boy in question gave a cheeky smile. The teenager in front of him was less than amused. Les shrugged. "It was Bean! She said she could whoop me, David!"

"And she did! And now look at you! You're a mess!"

He was right. The small child was covered from head to toe in mud and grass. He was breathing hard as David placed baskets and cages in the back of the carriage. "But I almost won!"

David whirled around, shaking his head as he grabbed the boy beneath his armpits and lifted him up, placing him in the front of the carriage, beside where he would be sitting. "Les, if you move one more time, I swear I will—"

"Mr. Jacobs!"

David gasped and spun quick on his heels. The Grand Duke was standing right behind him. Him, three guards, a horse David did not recognize and—

The boy dropped to his knees, bowing his head. The princess was right there, standing in the middle of the three towering guards. David stuttered for a moment, not truly knowing what to say. "Y-your highness… wh-what can I do for you?"

"Your David, right?" Katherine replied, smiling down at the young man. "It's okay. You really… you don't have to do that," she insisted, just as the boy looked up, not quite meeting her eye.

Before David could even think about getting up on his own, a hand tightened in the back of his vest and he was pulled up quick. He bit his lip to keep from letting out a cry, but he kept his head low as he scrambled to get his feet underneath him. "Oh-okay… I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"It's okay, David. We were wondering if you'd do the honor of letting me and a few guards accompany you on your rounds." David tried not to look too shocked. But he couldn't help it. The young woman was so kind. He'd known that already. What he couldn't figure out though, was why a princess would want to accompany two commoners, one that wasn't even ten yet, no less, on a short trip through town and to a couple farms.

He glanced back at his little brother who was sitting, now solemnly, in the front seat of the carriage. And then he looked back towards the ground and nodded. "Y-yes… yes, of course, your highness," he responded, still baffled at the request, not quite sure he wanted to ask.

The young woman grinned. "Excellent," she laughed a bit, brushing a bit at her dress and taking a few steps towards the carriage. "You must be Les." The little boy only glanced up at her, looking so terrified all of the sudden.

David looked back at the boy, nodding at him, encouraging him to say something, only praying it was the right thing. So Les nodded. "Yes, your highness," the child finally replied, smiling a little bit as Katherine giggled.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you and your brother. Thank you for letting us tag along." One of the guards helped her into the backseat of the small carriage. She sat patiently and looked out in the direction of her kingdom.

David looked around as the guards got themselves ready to do. And he managed a small bow towards The Grand Duke, Wiesel. And the man looked down at him. "Just do your job, boy. We'll have a talk about you and your brother's behavior when you get back."

Solemnly, the boy nodded, knowing it was only a matter of time before that conversation came into play. "I am so sorry, Your Grace. We'll be better, I promise—"

"Save it for after your rounds, Mr. Jacobs," the man insisted before nodding towards the young princess in the backseat and turning to be on his way.

David turned to his brother and felt his heart tighten.

It would be okay. He would make it okay.

Running a hand over his face, David climbed up onto the carriage and pulled his little brother closer to his side, ignoring the dirt that was now on his clothes as well. He ran a hand over the boy's hair and looked around to make sure everyone was secure in the small space before he grabbed the reins. One guard was in the back with the princess, two were on horses at his sides and one pulled an extra steed along with him. "And we're off…" he muttered, as he set the carriage into movement.

—

"Kelly! Get off your lazy ass!" The voice echoed from downstairs. It must've been past noon by now.

Jack still hadn't moved from his room. He couldn't remember closing his eyes. Not even for a moment.

But he could still hear screams echoing in his ears. He could still feel his heart clenching in his chest.

His door was pushed open. But he still didn't move from his spot, curled up at the foot of his bed. He didn't look up. He didn't even try. He just sat with his arms around his knees and his eyes trained down on the ground. "How is he?"

Crutchie sighed. "He's not sick, which is a good thing. Still a little delirious, but that's ta be expected… says he wants ta talk ta you… i-if ya got the time…" he tried to joke. But Jack couldn't laugh.

He could hardly speak. "I… I can't believe they made me do that ta him…" he whimpered, shaking his head and leaning it back against the firm mattress behind him. "I was beggin' them ta let him be. Ta stop hurtin' him for something he didn't do n' they didn't even care…"

The young slave boy let himself to the ground beside the young master of the house. The one who had so little control. "Jack… first of all, Race did try to run. Second of all, you saved his life. They were gonna hang him. You know they were," the boy insisted, "Y-you can't always protect all of us from everythin'... we know ya want to… but ya just can't…"

"He's neva' made me do any of it before!" Jack cried, fresh out of tears. "I've had ta watch, but I always got to help you… I always got ta clean you up n' make sure you were okay… n' now… now he's tryin' ta turn me inta him… he made me _whip_ Race… Race w's screamin' an' cryin' an' it just made them wanna hurt him more…"

"Jack… just… just try… they're lettin' him out in an hour so he can help load to carriage for the castle…" Crutchie stated, giving Jack as much a smile as he had the strength to give. "Jack… you're the only thing we got givin' us hope that maybe one day, things'll change. Race needs ya right now… we all do…"

With that, the boy stood with the help of his ever present crutch and made his way back to the door, shooting his friend one more sad smile before leaving him alone once again.

The words made Jack want to sob all the more.

He wished he could just take all of these kids and run away. But that wasn't reality. His parents had known that. They'd known that they'd needed farm hands. They'd known that it was easier to have slaves than servants. But they'd still cared for those boys.

With only Jack standing between those children and the cruel world that they lived in, they didn't stand a chance.

But he did what he had to. He took a steady breath and ran a hand over his face before pushing himself to his feet. He combed fingers through his hair and tried to make himself look presentable as he walked through the door and down the stairs and out into the main rooms of the brilliant house he'd grown up in.

This was his house. The palace of his golden childhood.

He was going to figure out a way to get it back. He had to.

He had to hold on. He couldn't give up on those kids or on himself.

He could do this.

He had to do this.

He had to continue to fight for those boys. Because those boys were practically his family.

They were the only family he had left.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite honestly, part of me is still figuring out how to get from point A to point B, but I think I've figured it all out and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully I'll be back soon!
> 
> As always, make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, babes!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you guys so much for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes!


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